


Tangible Alliance

by Tigrass



Category: Star Wars - All Media Types, Star Wars: The Clone Wars (2008) - All Media Types
Genre: Ahsoka Tano Needs a Hug, Angst, Darth Maul Needs a Hug, Darth Maul Redemption, Enemies to Friends, Enemies to Lovers, F/F, F/M, Fluff, Fluff and Angst, Fluff and Smut, Hurt/Comfort, Smut, Some Deaths
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-08-16
Updated: 2020-09-06
Packaged: 2021-03-06 06:15:34
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 10
Words: 27,990
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25938760
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Tigrass/pseuds/Tigrass
Summary: She was suppose to destroy the object, when she finds the object is a living being, she stops. It's a Zabrak and Ahsoka knows only one place where they live - where the child will be safe. When she returns the child to his home planet, a Nightbrother proposes her a mission which she accepts, however along the way she encounters an old enemy - Darth Maul. They come to an alliance, but Ahsoka gets more then she bargained for.
Relationships: Ahsoka Tano & Darth Vader, Ahsoka Tano & Original Character(s), Ahsoka Tano & Original Female Character(s), Anakin Skywalker & Ahsoka Tano, Bail Organa & Ahsoka Tano, CT-7567 | Rex & Ahsoka Tano, Darth Maul & Ahsoka Tano, Darth Maul & Bail Organa, Darth Maul & CT-7567 | Rex, Darth Maul & Original Female Character(s), Darth Maul & Original Male Character(s), Darth Maul/Ahsoka Tano, Leia Organa & Ahsoka Tano, Lux Bonteri & Ahsoka Tano, Obi-Wan Kenobi & Ahsoka Tano, Original Female Character(s)/Original Female Character(s)
Comments: 28
Kudos: 152





	1. Finding

**Author's Note:**

> hello girls, guys, non-binary pals - everyone here reading this! this is a story that i have been working on for sometime, motivation has it's up and downs and i have 10 chapters planned and others in the making. i wanted to wait until i had more chapters written but i don't have that much patience ':) i'm not sure what schedule the updates are, the least is twice a week.
> 
> of course this is a star wars au but it's going to carry so much more then just maul and ahsoka (as you can probably guess by the tags). i'm excited to share this story with you, i hope you all enjoy! :)

The hard ground she laid on wasn’t comfy but she didn’t need it too, she had done things like this many times so she wasn’t bothered at how one move made the rock ground harshly rub against her shirt. The pain didn’t bother her, she had worse.

It was lucky enough that she had heard about this area in a small bar, Bail had told her that his other spies had heard stories of a mercenary encampment owned by the Nikto species that held an “important asset” to the Emperor, held on Arvala-7. That was more then enough information for her to travel to the planet and find this asset so dear to Sidious, destroying it will bring some of her revenge against him to be relieved, just a bit. 

_ Revenge is not the Jedi way. _

Well she isn’t a Jedi, she hadn’t been since she left the Order four years ago, three of those years had seen the end of the Jedi and the Republic, just like Maul said.

_ Stop it _ . Too long she had thought back on Mandalore with Maul, telling her all what was about to happen and held out a hand in help. Too many times she wished she had taken it, too many times wondering what would happen if she did help him.

_ It’s too late now. _ She forced those thoughts away from her and focused on the mission at hand, one that would bring down Sidious just a bit. Using her scope, she looked at the Nikto’s around the area, there were a few and they were carrying blasters; nothing she couldn’t handle. At the very end of the encampment was a long and low building with large doors that were open, it had guards around with different blasters, no doubt more powerful then the others.

She found the location of her target.

She put the scope away in the small brown pouch on her belt as she stood, pulling the hood of her grey cloak over her before making her move. She jumped along the sides, making sure not to cause any rockfall. Upon reaching the encampment she stayed low and hidden, pressing herself against the walls and analysing her next movements. One Nikto came close to her location, it was alone which made her job easier. As soon as he got close enough she wrapped a hand around his mouth, silencing his scream and quickly pressed a pressure point along the crook of his neck, rendering him unconscious. 

She laid his body gently on the floor and removed his blaster, not wanting to waste any more time Ahsoka stood and found four Nikto’s in her view and quickly blasted them. Their bodies fell to the floor with a loud thump, as if the sounds of the blaster didn’t alert the others already. Ahsoka was quick on her feet thanks to her Jedi training, which also gave her fast reflexes to dodge the blaster shots aimed for her and fire back at them.

A few more came out of the other small buildings, but again, nothing she couldn’t handle. She used the Force to put them in blast aims, she wasn’t going to be known that she was here as they were going to die anyway.

It didn’t take long for all of them to be dead, and there was hardly a scratch on her. She broke the blaster in half before dropping it on the floor and walking to the end building. The doors had shut during the small shootout, it was heavy metal as well.

Calling her lightsabers into her hands, she ignited them and used them to cut out a large rectangle. Once done she kicked it, making the cutout fall with a loud bang, and stepped inside.

A wave of fear and pain hit her, it was so sudden that it made her stumble just a bit. Focusing she reached out within the Force and dug into the sensation, it was coming from a room within the building, not far from where she was. She should be looking for Sidious’s asset, but she wasn’t going to ignore a person in danger, no matter how much she wanted revenge on the old man that took almost everything from her.

She followed where the Force took her, around corners and down hallways before stopping where the source came from. The door was big and black, numerous locks on the outside, too many for a prisoner. Perhaps the person behind here was the important asset. The thought made her sick as the Sith using yet again another person for his own personal gain, she grimaced and was now more determined to save this person behind the locked door.

It took some time within the Force to unlock all the locks at the door, but at last the final one was done with a loud click. Ahsoka opened her eyes and slowly opened the door, taking a step in cautiously when it opened, and her eyes widened.

Despite the large door the room was small, black and bare with no windows. The only source of light was a flickering above, the smell of damp water filled her nostrils; but none of it bothered her as she was too focused on the prisoner.

It was a boy - a child with deep orange skin and black markings on his face, small horns across his head. He was dressed in rags of clothing, all brown and tattered; he didn’t even have any shoes on. He was huddled in the corner of the room, arms, which she noticed had cuffs on, and around his legs. 

It was a Zabrak. But they were supposed to be on Dathomir, what was one doing here?

Maul quickly came to her, he was a Zabrak and Sidious was his master once; this couldn’t be a coincidence that Sidious’s important asset was another of Maul species, just what was he trying?

The boy shivered which made Ahsoka realise just how cold the room was, she was surprised he wasn't frozen. She took another step forward and the boy looked at her, eyes widening before pushing himself even further into the corner, looking at her with fear.

“It’s ok,” She quickly said in a soft voice, hands out in a surrendering position at her chest. “I’m not going to hurt you.”

He whimpered and her heart ached, she didn’t want to overstep her boundaries and make him even more scared then what he was, instead she let her Force flow to him, letting him see and feel that she was no threat. The boy had stiffened but slowly eased up, the tight hold on his legs had loosened and he stopped cowering, looking at her in awe. 

“Is...Is that you?” He asked, mentioning to the Force. 

Ahsoka gave a small gentle smile and nodded. “Yes, that's me. I’m here to save you, to get you out of here.”

He was shocked and leaned forward. “You..You promise? Your...Your not going to hurt me?”

“I promise, I’m not going to hurt you.” She slowly moved closer towards him, kneeling down in front and gesturing to his cuffs. “May I?”

His eyes flickered from the cuffs then back to her before nodding slowly, and held his arms out. Ahsoka put her hand out and waved, the cuffs unlocking and dropping to the ground in seconds, he looked at her in awe once again. 

She stood and held her hand out. “Come on, let’s get you out of here.”

The boy slowly took her hand and stood up, his hold tightened as they walked out of the cell and he stayed close to her. Ahsoka could still feel his anger and fear, in fact it had increased as they continued on their way out, perhaps he was looking out for any more Nikto’s that were keeping him here. 

They came out the entrance and Ahsoka quickly pulled out her lightsaber, activating it to deflect a blast from the Nikto she left unconscious. It quickly fell to the ground and she put her lightsaber away, she felt the boy's fear rise then quickly decrease in the moment, and gently pulled him along the ground.

Ahsoka noticed his legs shake and thought back to his cell, how long had he been in there, cuffed and curled up in fear? It’s not something she wants to think about but to help the boy, she has to. 

“My Freighter is a bit far out, would you like me to carry you?” She asked gently and he pondered on the thought, his eyes looking down at his shifted feet before looking back up at her and nodded. Letting go of his hand Ahsoka knelt down and put her hands on his hips, he shuddered but put his hands on her shoulders. When she stood her arms wrapped around his waist and his wrapped around her shoulders, Ahsoka held him to her chest and he laid his face against her between the crook of her neck and leku, it was a bit of added weight but she could deal with it.

Within twenty minutes she was back at her Freighter, once inside she placed the boy on the co-pilot's seat, gently detaching his hands off her. “I need to strap you in ok, just a little belt across your waist.”

The boy once again shuddered and she let him feel her Force aura again, the warmth calmed him down and he nodded. One they were both strapped in and started the engines pulled up the runway, the freighter flew off the ground and soon they were in space. She watched the boy’s face lit up in fascination at the sight of the dark sky with the bright stars.

_ This must be his first time off the planet. _

The very thought angered and saddened her, he was so young yet deprived of such an experience she had when she was younger then him, something so normal to see except for him. She gripped the controls as they flew away, how dare Sidious do this to another person, hadn’t he hurt enough already?

“Don’t hurt me!” 

Ahsoka whipped her head to the boy, who was now cowering in fear in the seat. “What-”

“Please!” Tears started to form in his eyes as his body shook. “Don’t use your anger on me. Don’t hurt me like they did!” 

She looked at him in shock, he sensed her anger? But it was only possible unless  _ oh _ , he’s Force-sensitive. She shook her head, she can focus on that thought later. She calmed down her anger and unbuckled herself from her seat before turning to him.

“Hey,” She called out to him in a gentle and firm voice. “I’m not going to hurt you.”

“B-But, you’re angry!” The boy cried. “T-They always used their anger on me.”

They must mean the Nikto’s back at the encampment, she was angered by the fact but forced herself to calm down. 

“Yes I’m angry, but only at the people who hurt you.” The shaking greatly decreased but still there slightly. “I promise you that I will never hurt you, I’m not like them. I promised I wouldn’t hurt you and I’m not going to break it.”

She kept her tone gently and quiet as she went along, the boy was no longer scared and stopped cowering. He wiped his tears and nose and avoided her gaze as he spoke.

“I’m sorry.”

“Don’t be. You have nothing to apologise for.” It was true, if he suffered like this under their hands then it would take some time to overcome it, it would have long lasting effects that she wanted to help with - perhaps she could.

She then realised that they don’t know each other’s name, she could hear Obi-Wan’s tuts of disapproval and shrugged them off. “My name is Ahsoka, Ahsoka Tano.”

The boy looked at her, a little shocked as she told him her name before nodding. “I-It’s nice to meet you Miss Tano.”

“Call me Ahsoka, Miss Tano makes me feel old.” She joked, and smiled when the boy let out a giggle. “What’s your name?”

The boy thought hard which made her worried, did he not know his name? Did he not remember? Was he given one?

“They...they called me Vandal but...but I think I have another name. Before I was...taken.”

The whole sentence shattered Ahsoka’s heart, they gave him a name in means of destroying; just like Maul and his brother Savage, as well as Sidious’s new apprentice Darth Vader.

_ Anakin. _

She forced the thought out of her head, now was not the time of thinking of the past, she needed to focus on the present.

“We’ll find out your other name, your true name if you want.”

She felt excitement from Vandal and his eyes lit up. “I do!”

She gave him a smile and nodded before asking. “Do..do you remember where you were, taken from?”

Vandal frowned as he thought back, his brows creased and Ahsoka could feel his pain. Then he opened his eyes and looked back at her. “It was a red planet, I was told that it was strong with the dark side. I was part of a group called the Nightbrothers. Do you know where that is?”

Ahsoka nodded. “Yes, it’s called Dathomir.”

“I remember now!” He lit up and she couldn’t help but smile.

Dathomir, she had heard a lot about it from Obi-Wan and Anakin, she knew a few people, mostly Siths who came from the planet. Ventress, Maul and his brother Savage. There was also Jedi Master Eeth Koth who left the Jedi Order before her, she didn't know what he did after or if he even survived the Great Jedi Purge, as it was now called.

“Well then, that’s where we’re going.” She put in the coordinates of the planet, she didn’t feel good going to the planet where Maul was from but she needed to get Vandal back to his home, hopefully where he would be safe and sound.

“I’m going home?” He asked, excitement and relief in his voice, she felt bad for being wounded at his words, she didn’t have a home anymore.

Ahsoka nodded and activated the hyperspace, letting the view be filled with the blue and white lines of light. “Your going home.”

Yes she might not have a home anymore, but that wasn’t going to stop her for taking Vandal back to his. 


	2. Home

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ahsoka thinks back on the important events in the last three years, specifically Order 66 and Darth Vader on the way to take Vandal home.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i'm still trying to work a posting schedule but i'm just too excited to show this story, so have a second chapter :)

Ahsoka leaned back in the pilot's seat, letting her muscles rest. It had been a few hours since they entered hyperspace and there was still a bit more to go, not many Freighter’s had a hyperdrive in them but Ahsoka made some manufactures to her’s and she was happy she did so. 

Vandal had unbuckled himself and Ahsoka gave him some ration bars and shakes she kept which he took gracefully, once he was done she let him in the refresher to clean himself and managed to wash some dirt out of his clothes and have them dry before he came out. Now that his stomach was full and he was all clean, tiredness started to get to him, she led him to the bunk room and tucked him into bed, staying with him until he fell asleep like he asked her to. 

She took a bite out of her own ration bar, she had many of them back in the Clone Wars yet she still shuddered at the disgusting taste, the shakes were only a little better but still. She longed for real food, the taste of some real meat and blue milk - actually let’s change that so some alcohol, she was of age now and wasn’t a stranger to the taste.

Of course she would only have that after she took Vandal back to his planet, as soon as she was sure that he was safe she would leave and contact Bail and tell him what she found and what she did, she knew Bail would agree with what she was doing but the others? Maybe not so much, some might even come after Vandal, so perhaps she should lie to them and only tell Bail the truth, he wouldn’t tell a soul unless she said so.

She felt within the Force that Vandal was still asleep, she dug a little deeper to get a feel of his powers within the Force, and was shocked by how much there was. All the fear that had been brought on him was a heavy influence, there was so much that it made goosebumps on her skin. This kind of power made her think of Anakin, of course his was stronger then Vandal’s, but the amount of power he had; Ahsoka could only think of her former master and how Vandal could reach his potential.

Maybe that’s why Sidious wanted him, because his power within the force is strong as Anakin's, perhaps he wanted the power all to himself like before. Or maybe he wanted a new apprentice for when Darth Vader falls.

The thought was uncomfortable, Darth Vader always did because Maul’s words always came back to her. About Anakin being his master’s - Sidious’s - new apprentice, the very thought angered and disgusted her from when she first heard it, there was no way her Skyguy would turn, never!

But after surviving Order 66 she couldn’t sense him anymore, not within the Force and in their bond, at least not like she used to. She remembered a year or so into hiding when she saw the news of Darth Vader, she knew that Palpatine was the Sith Lord by then and with him standing next to the man in black armour, it all came together for her.

Palpatine was always close to Anakin, being a mentor and friend, she knew of their close friendship - but that was all part of his plan to get close to Anakin. She still couldn’t feel Anakin through the Force or bond, but there was something about the man in that black armour that felt familiar to her. And after putting the pieces together, she came to the horrible realisation that started at her in the face.

Anakin Skywalker was Darth Vader.

She didn’t know how long she sobbed and curled away after realising this, she cried until she couldn’t any longer. When she stopped Maul’s words kept ringing in her ear, he told her that this would happen; that the Jedi and Republic would fall, that Anakin had been groomed to be Sidious’s apprentice, that he would turn to the dark side. She didn’t believe in any of it, especially Anakin being turned. 

But he was right, Maul had been right all along. He held out his hand and offered an alliance to work together to defeat Sidious, but she refused, and now the whole galaxy is paying for her mistake.

How she wished she could go back in time and do things differently, how she could have seen Palpatine’s ruse, take Maul’s hand and save the galaxy. Before it all happened she would fear of him taking over his former master’s place, but now she would have taken Maul ruling the galaxy any day to save Anakin and the people she loved.

But she couldn’t, it was impossible to go back in time. She would have to live like this now, like she had been for the last three years.

Ahsoka suddenly felt a spike within Vandal’s Force, signalling that he was now awake. She pushed all of her “negative” emotions - as Yoda would say - away and took another bite of her bar before he entered the cockpit. Ahsoka swerved in her chair to face him, and found him rubbing his eyes.

“Good Morning.” He yawned, Ahsoka had to hold back a giggle.

“Good Morning,” He came up to sit in the co-pilot's seat. “Did you sleep well?”

Vandal nodded. “I did, thank you for letting me sleep on a bed.”

“Of course.” she smiled. “Do you want anything to eat or drink?”

“Um, could I have another shake?” He asked and Ahsoka nodded, going into the small compartment in the hallway of the ship, grabbing one out before coming back into the cockpit and giving it to Vandal. “Thank you!” He smiled and pulled the straw from it’s back, struck it through the plastic material and began to sip. 

“Your welcome.” Ahsoka’s smile widened, it had been a while since she had a child's company, the last was back on the Tantive IV where she had a very short greeting of Leia Organa. She felt something off from the child, something different yet familiar but never brought it up with Bail. Perhaps the next time she see’s him she could, if there was a possibility that Leia was Force-sensitive then Bail deserved to know.

Vandal took another sip before he asked. “C-Can I ask you something?”

“Of course, what is it?” She put her attention on him, he shifted in his seat before answering.

“The reason I was taken...it was because I was told that I was strong within the Force but I...I don’t really know what that means.” He looked up at her, eyes full of curiosity. “Can you tell me?”

Ahsoka nodded. “The Force is, well how to put it,” She put a hand on her chin, thinking hard. There are many answers to give but she needed a simple one to explain to him, and decided on Obi-Wan’s words. “It's an energy field created by all living things. It surrounds us and penetrates us; it binds the galaxy together. We are connected to everything in the galaxy, we can feel and sense everything as long as we allow it.”

“Wow.” Vandal looked at her in awe again. “And I can use it?”

“Yes. People who can use the Force, like us, are known as Force-sensitive and we can use the power of the Force for our own, and to help others.” Ahsoka told him, and he took in every word with ultimate focus.

“How can we use it?”

Ahsoka raised a brow in amusement. “Why don’t I show you.”

Vandal nodded excitedly which made her chuckle, she uncurled the ration bar still in her hand, letting it lay on her palm. The tips of her fingers curled and a second later it floated above her skin, she moved her fingers around so that it twirled a few times before settling back down in her hand. 

“Woah!” Vandal smiled brightly as he looked at her. “That was so wizard!”

Ahsoka chuckled at his excitement. “Would you like me to teach you how to use the Force like that?”

His eyes lit up. “Really? You would teach me?”

“Only if you want to.”

He nodded his head vigorously “I do!”

“Ok then,” Ahsoka stood and Vandal immediately followed her to the centre of the cockpit, she sat down crossed legged with her hands on her knees, Vandal copied. “First we have to mediate and clear our minds, you need to calm and reach within the Force. Feel it in you, connecting yourself to everything in the galaxy.”

Vandal nodded and they both closed their eyes, Ahsoka reached out around him, feeling his movements. She let him feel her Force signature again and it helped calm him down. “Good, now try and reach out, and feel the galaxy.”

He nodded and followed her words, time was at a standstill until he gasped. “I can feel it, it’s...warm.”

“The light side normally is.” She told him, she’ll explain that to him later and put her ration bat on the ground in the middle of them. “Now, focus on the ration bar infront of you. Let the Force flow through you, then focus it on the bar to lift it.”

Vandal nodded once more and focused, his eyebrows furrowed along the way. A few minutes passed before the bar moved, it was a little twitch at first before being moved more. Slowly it was lifted off the floor by a couple inches, Ahsoka watched with a smile and it went higher before Vandal opened his eyes and it dropped to the floor.

“Very good!” She praised with a big smile. “That was perfect for your first try.”

“Really?” Vandal was happy at the complement, his eyes shining. Ahsoka nodded and he let out a breath of relief. “It was a bit hard.”

“Well you’ve only just begun using the Force, it will take some time, practice and patience to go far.”

“Will you teach me?” He asked with hope in his voice and eyes, Ahsoka can hear the unspoken question of training. Vandal wants her to train him, back in the Order she would have done it in a heartbeat but now - now there is no Order, nowhere to keep him safe except his home. He definitely wouldn’t be safe with her, she’s traveling to different planets and moons constantly with a range of missions that might be to much for him, not to mention that the Empire thinks she’s dead and if they see her - especially Darth Vader, then they’ll waste no time in coming to get her, or kill her. If she took Vandal with her he won’t be shown any mercy and she can’t put him through that, not after he’s been locked away. No, it would be safer for him to go back to Dathomir with his people.

She opened her mouth to respond when the Freighter stumbled, pulled out of hyperspace. Ahsoka quickly stood and went to the front, the red planet now in view and glowing against her skin. 

Vandal followed her and went back on his seat to look out, his face with a glow of red that fits nicely against his skin.”It feels like home!” He said cheerfully.

Ahsoka felt anything but cheerful coming to the planet, but hid it and buckled herself back in the pilot seat, Vandal followed in his. 

Time to get Vandal home.


	3. Dathomir

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ahsoka and Vandal land on Dathomir where he learns his true name. A small feast is held to welcome him back, and Ahsoka learns how he was in the Empire's hands.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Vandal's name changes in the story as we learn his real name.  
> I've finally worked a schedule out, i will post three times a week: Monday, Thursday and Sunday.

Ahsoka felt the dark side of the force very quickly as she flew into the air of the planet, it was like everything she was told back at the Jedi Temple; cold, strong, powerful. She didn’t like it one bit, but it didn’t seem to bother Vandal, maybe it was because he was born here, that this is his home world that he never really took notice of it.

“Do you know where the Nightbrothers settle?” She asked him as they flew over the red ground, there was very little vegetation from what she could see. 

“Not really.” He shook his head. “All that I knew is that they live near barren rocks on the far side of the planet.” 

Ahsoka signed, not a lot to go on but better then nothing. “Looks like we have to go searching then.”

She flew beneath the clouds to get closer to the sights, avoiding tall rocks and mountains and looking between the trees. Twenty minutes went by before her eyes finally caught something, buildings with windows and lights, tall wooden fences around and people scattered - people with horns and black marks.

“This must be it.”

Vandal bounced excitedly as she landed a few feet away from the village, careful not to destroy anything of theirs before she unbuckled herself with Vandal following. She pressed the button for the runway and heard the buzz of it going down, she then turned to the young boy beside her.

“Are you ready?”

“Yep!” He smiled again and she couldn’t help but smile back. “Come on, let’s go!” He grabbed her hand and tugged as he walked very fast down the ramp, a chuckle left her lips at his excitement and held his hand as they walked to the village. Ahsoka noticed that there were Nightbrothers on a wooden walkway tied between two buildings, watching over them with cautious eyes. There were also three more of them at the entrance that held spears to defend themselves from enemies. 

When they got close enough one of them stepped forward, his skin yellow with black markings and green eyes. He wore a grey tunic that covered his chest and ended inches above his knees, black baggy pants tucked into boots of metal. He also wore a metal arm brace on his left arm as well as a slash of red on his upper arm.

“State who you are.”

“I’m Ahsoka Tano, and I bring back a child to your village who was taken.” She gestured to Vandal whose grip had tightened.

The man looked at Vandal and his eyes widened “Tervhum.”

Vandal looked shocked. “Tervhum,” He repeated. “Is...is that my real name?”

“It is.” The man nodded. “They hurt you so much that you do not remember your own name?” Vandal - Tervhum, nodded and the man's features softened. “Come, follow me. Including you Mistress Tano.”

She didn’t ask on how he addressed her, she didn’t know much about their culture and didn’t want to ask or say anything that would offend them. Ahsoka and Tervhum followed, hands still holding as they walked passed some buildings and other Nightbrothers who watched them curiously. 

They entered a building near the end of the village, it was tall and black with stands of bright lights on top. Ahsoka thought of the leader who lived here or one who had superiority above the others as they were a few more buildings like it. Inside the walls were still black and the room was large, many tables and seats scattered around neatly. There was something that resembled a bar to Ahsoka at the back and she could see a few bottles and cups. The man led them to one of the tables in the middle and sat opposite of her and Tervhum.

“It is good to see you again young Tervhum, when you were taken we feared the worse.”

Tervhum nodded slowly. “Thank you Mister…”

The man chuckled. “Forgive me for not introducing myself, I am Rorgun.”

“Thank you Mister Rorgun,” Tervhum finished with a small smile. “I don’t remember much of being taken but I have a feeling that I was gone for a long time.”

Rorgun nodded solemnly. “You have young one, almost a year.”

Ahsoka’s eyes widened, Tervhum had been a prisoner for a year? She hated to think of what the Nikto’s had done to him in that amount of time, he already told her that they used their anger out on him, but what more did they do?

Tervhum was obviously shocked and held his hands together, he bit his lip to try and stop the trembling. Ahsoka gently placed a hand on his back, her thumb rubbed soothing circles. His hands loosened and his lips stopped trembling, he probed her within the Force and relaxed when he felt her; her signature is always calming him so she doesn’t pull back.

Rorgun spoke again. “But you are here now, back home.”

Tervhum gave a smile. “That’s because Ahsoka saved me! Without her then I wouldn’t...I wouldn’t be here.”

Rorgun turned to Ahsoka with admiration and bowed his head. “Thank you Mistress Tano for bringing one of our own back home, he has been dearly missed.”

“It was the right thing to do.” She said back, “I’m happy for him to finally be home.”

Rorgun smiled. “This is a joyous occasion, we must have a feast to celebrate.”

“Will there be real food?” Tervhum asked excitedly, Ahsoka doesn’t blame him as all they’ve had is rations. “Like meat?”

“Of course.” Rorgun chuckled and turned to Ahsoka, giving her the same warmth that he gave Tervhum. “Will you join us Mistress Tano? Your presence is highly welcome as you have brought one of our own back to us.”

Ahsoka thought on it, she had to report back to Bail on what had happened, that Sidious’s important asset was a child that she took back to his home planet. It had been a while since she had any real food which she craved for, and she was personally asked to join as well. She doesn’t know much about their culture all that the planet and it’s inhabitants keep to themselves, and turning down a personal offer could be offensive - something she doesn’t want to do.

“I would be honoured.” She replied. “But I must contact my friend to know that Tervhum is safe and back home.”

Rorgun nodded. “Of course.” He then turned back to Tervhum. “There are many waiting to see you and welcome you back home Tervhum, would you like to see them?”

He nodded excitedly. “Yes please!”

* * *

“So the important asset for Sidious we heard so much about, was a child?” Bail asked incredulously.

Ahsoka nodded. “Yep.”

While Rorgun took Tervhum to see the others that had waited for him, Ahsoka went back to her Freighter and contacted Bail and tell him the news, despite him being a leader of the Rebellion and having to talk to many people, Ahsoka was on his priority list and so she didn’t need to worry about him not answering.

She continued. “I found him in a cell with numerous locks, all of different ranges which wouldn’t be used for any normal prisoner, even a Force-sensitive one. It was clear that whatever they were hiding was important, and it turned out to be Tervhum.”

Bail took the information in with a hand on his chin before he asked. “And you think this has something to do with Darth Maul?”

She hadn’t used or heard the term “Darth” for Maul in years, it shouldn’t make her bite her lip as he was a Sith after all. “Yes, both are Zabrak's from Dathomir and Force-sensitive. I felt Tervhum’s signature within the Force, and it’s very strong.”

Bail caught onto her words. “Like _his_?”

Ahsoka knew he meant Anakin, Bail never really said his name anymore unless needed to. He knew what her former master had become, just like she did. “It’s not the same but similar, I have no doubt that Sidious intended to have Tervhum trained to become his next apprentice.”

“That is disturbing.” Bail agreed with her thoughts, he signed. “But at least the child is home now, you did a good job Ahsoka.”

The corner of her lip tugged. “I thought I was Fulcrum.”

“Fulcrum is the manager of my intelligence network, Ahsoka Tano is one who saves lives.”

She smiled, trust Bail to always make her feel better. “Thank you Bail.”

He smiled at her, warm and comforting as always. “Thank you Ahsoka. Now go enjoy the feast, Force knows you need it.”

With a chuckle she ended the call and walked back down the runway, nodding to the two Nightbrothers stationed on guard and meeting Rorgun just a few steps after the entrance.

“Follow me Mistress Tano.” She nodded and followed him near the building they were in before, but there were a lot more Nightbrothers about, chatting among one another with cups in their hands. Ahsoka noticed that they were females as well, she knew little about the culture of Dathomir, but the woman in charge was a fact known widely in the Jedi Temple. It didn’t seem like the female Zabrak's were going for control, they were calm, relaxed and smiled happily. Perhaps the genders lived in equally now and were peaceful, it would explain the children around. 

They surrounded a fire pit which had some meat of an animal on a stick rotating, Ahsoka didn’t grimace at the sight as her people did the same thing if they wanted meat cooked. She remembered getting weird glances as she ate meat raw, it didn’t affect her like most species, in fact it was quite healthy for Togruta's. But sometimes she head cooked meat as it offered more flavour, especially with spices. 

Rorgun got hold of two cups and gave one to her, she thanked him and sniffed the aroma, a delicious smell of spice filled her nostrils and she took a sip. The taste pleasantly tingling on her tongue, the spice added a bit of a kick to the warm calming water that made her body relax. She realises that some were playing instruments, banging their hands or sticks against skins of animals on wood. Some children danced to the music together or with an adult, Tervhum was one of them and he was laughing happily as he went. The sight brought a smile to her face, it was good to see him happy after being a prisoner for a year at such a young age, now he can be happy back on his home world. 

_How did he get taken?_ She thought. If he was this happy, loved and missed then surely he would have been watched with every stop he took. Something must have happened for him to be alone to be able to be taken, but that was kidnapping and they didn’t use that word. “Taken” was different, people would have been present to see him go, were they not able to save him? Or worse, was he given away?

She would only find answers if she asked, so she turned to Rorgun and did just that. “Do you mind if I ask you something?”

“Not at all Mistress Tano.”

She took another sip of her drink before asking. “Do you know how Tervhum got taken?”

Rorgun but his lips, that small action gave her the answer. He looked at the young boy before turning back to her. “I do, but we shall save that story for when the feat is over. Let’s not spoil the good atmosphere.”

Ahsoka nodded, she could wait and allow the feast to go on for a while longer, especially when Tervhum was happy.

At least she got to bring happiness to a child.

* * *

The sun was begging to set and the music slowly stopped, the meat all gone and the fire pit out. Everyone had gone back to their small homes to get ready for the cold night, there were still some children playing with onlookers from the bare windows in their homes, keeping an eye on the young ones.

Rorgun led Ahsoka to a log sit and sat on the one opposite her, their cups refilled with the warm drink. They were silent for a moment before he spoke, answering her previous question.

“All beings on Dathomir are all born being - as you say, Force-sensitive - but Tervhum had more power within it. Our leader saw this and wanted to train him, but outsiders had quickly come to know of Tervhum’s power and sent a female warrior in black, their face covered in a mask and wielding a red lightsaber. She told me and our leader that the Emperor wanted Tervhum, and if we didn’t comply, they would slaughter us all.”

Ahsoka grimaced, he was no doubt talking about an Inquisitor, one of Vader’s puppets. 

“We had no choice but to let her take him, but we protect our own as much as we can, and if word was out of this then they would all fight back. I would not allow them all to die and so our leader and I stated a plan for the Inquisitor to take Tervhum while he was out hunting alone.” Rorgun took a deep sigh before continuing. “I have always regretted the part I played and wished I could have done more, I am happy that my brothers and sisters are still here but not at the cost of a child.” 

Ahsoka reached across and put a hand on his shoulder, making him look at her. His eyes were full of guilt and she could sense how weak he called himself.

“You did what you had to do for your people, even if the choice was hard and wrong, you ensured their survival.”

Rorgun bit his lip before asking. “Do you believe young Tervhum would forgive me?”

Ahsoka thought about it, it was a 50/50 chance. He could or won't, he wouldn’t at first but then come to later, or maybe he wouldn’t. “I don’t know, but whatever he feels and chooses is valid. If he does not then you must give him time, let him know how much you regret it but don’t push too far, otherwise he will draw further away from you.”

Rorgun thought on her words and signed, a small smile on his lips. “Thank you for your wise and kind words Mistress Tano.”

She gently patted his shoulder before letting go and leaned back, she took another sip of her drink and saw Tervhum waving at the other children before running towards her, she noticed how his shoulders sag and his heavy feet against the sandy ground. When he reached her she saw his lidded eyelids and the tiredness across his face.

“Ahsoka, I’m tired.” He said while rubbing his eyes and sitting next to her, she smiled and wrapped an arm around his shoulders which caused him to immediately lean against her, his eyes quickly closing.

Rorgun chuckled. “It seems we must all rest now.” He gently took Ahsoka’s cup as she gathered Tervhum in her arms, careful not to wake him up and stood. “Follow me.”

Rorgun led her to a small unoccupied cabin, as soon as she entered she quickly realised that it was meant for two people, especially with the only bed it had, which was quite large. She gently laid Tervhum on the bed after taking off his shoes and pulled the cover on animal skin and fur over him, making sure he was comfortable before returning to Rorgun. 

“Thank you very much for your hospitality.”

“You are quite welcome.” He bowed his head, he made to move to the door but stopped himself, shifting in his feet before turning back to her. “Tomorrow...there is something I would like to discuss with you, if I may.”

“Of course.” Ahsoka nodded.

Rorgun smiled and bowed his head. “Goodnight Mistress Tano.” He shut the door behind him and Ahsoka could hear the sound of his footsteps fading away the further he got. She went back to the bedroom to find Tervhum still in the same position as she left him, she quietly took off her boots, headpiece and belt that also held her lightsabers before she slid in the bed and put the animal skin back over them.

Looking at the peaceful young boy besides her, Ahsoka fell into a quick slumber with the thoughts of tomorrow on her mind.


	4. Mission

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Rorgun tells Ahsoka what happened to his people three years ago, and asks for her help.

Ahsoka should’ve known that the nights in Dathomir would be cold, given that their normal was heated then Coruscant and other planets she went to. She wasn't a fan of the cold either, much more preferring the heat and warmth the Sun provided. She woke to Tervhum practically buried into her body, clinging onto her warmth, she didn’t mind and found it quite adorable.

The sun rose and the heat increase made Tervhum woke up and he groggily opened his eyes, blinking a few times before staying open. Once he saw Ahsoka he smiled. 

“Morning Ahsoka.”

“Good Morning Tervhum.” She smiled. “Did you have a good sleep.”

“Yep! I haven't slept that long and comfy in ages.”

Her mind drifted back to the condition she found him in, a cold black cell with cuffs and tattered clothes, the Nightbrothers had kindly given him some of their own before their feats last night that he spelt in, they weren’t as good as other clothing Ahsoka had seen but it was how the clan dressed; and so she wouldn’t say anything.

“I’m glad.” She noticed his eyes trail up and widen, she raised a brow. “What is it?”

“What are those?” He asked, poking one of her Akul teeth, she smiled.

“Those are teeth from a creature called an Akul.”

“Why do you have them on your head?” He asked curiously, his head tilted slightly.

“In my culture, when we’re young we slain one to prove our worth and wear their teeth as trophies.”

“What age did you kill yours?”

Ahsoka hummed as she thought back. “I think I was about seven.”

“Woah.” He gasped, his eyes shining in admiration. “That’s so wizard.”

She chuckled. “Thank you.”

She could hear the footsteps of Nightbrothers walking out of their houses and doing their activities and decided that it’s time to wake up. Tervhum followed her as they got out of bed and put the rest of their clothes on before walking outside, Ahsoka see’s Rorgun walking towards them and met him halfway. 

“Good Morning Rorgun.”

“Good Morning Mister Rorgun!”

“Good Morning Mistress Tano.” He bowed his head with a smile and did the same to Tervhum. “Good Morning young Tervhum, your friends are waiting for you in the centre.”

Tervhum looked up excitedly at Ahsoka, silently asking if he could join. She grinned at him and rubbed his head, avoiding his thorns before she patted his back. “Go on.”

He cheered and ran in the direction Rorgun gave him, Ahsoka watched until he was out of sight before turning to the Nightbrother before her. “You said you wished to tell me something?” 

“I do.” Rorgun nodded and motioned her forward. “Please, come with me.”

Ahsoka followed him away from the cabin she stayed in and into the end housing she saw the previous day that she assumed was used by one of higher authority, perhaps Rorgun was this; he did seem like a leader, not just by the way he spoke and acted. The Nightbrothers followed his words without speaking against him, and he himself talked about being with the leader of the clan so he must be on a pedestal compared to the others. 

She wondered who this leader was he spoke of, it must be a Nightbrother of course but why didn’t he come and greet Ahsoka and Tervhum? Why didn’t he join in the feast? And if he did, why not talk or her or Tervhum? Perhaps their kind of leader was different to the ones she had seen before, it certainly wouldn’t be the first time.

The first thing Ahsoka noticed upon entering the Temple was that it was cold, too cold for normal as Dathomir was a warm planet; so something here was deliberating keeping it under normal temperature. Goosebumps appeared on her skin and she ignored the temptation to wrap her arms around herself for a small feel of warmth, and looked around.

It was all stone with carved faces and statues inside, Ahsoka didn’t know much about the planet but she had a feeling that the carvings weren’t just made by people wanting to show their artistic skills. The area they were in was small and bare and their footsteps echoed loudly, Ahsoka followed Rorgun to another entrance where the area expanded in size and looked more like the building she had first entered when she came here. 

There was one large table carved out of stone with wooden chairs surrounding it, another entrance on the far wall and torches lit up around the room, bringing the light in.The room looked like it was used for meetings and gatherings of important business, maybe that’s what this was.

She followed Rorgun to the table and sat in a seat opposite his, her hands together as she rested them on the cold stone and waited for the Nightbrother to speak.

“Apologises for bringing you here Mistress Tano, but what I have to say is very urgent and sensitive. To both of us I presume.”

Ahsoka raised a brow, what information could he have that would have that effect? Is it about Tervhum?

But he didn’t wait for anything from her and continued to speak. “Three years ago a ship crashed down near our village that carried a human male, however he did not know of this until months later and brought him to our village to be in the presence of Viscus, our leader back then. We intended to know about him but upon knowing that Viscus was our leader, the human quickly killed him and thus made himself the leader of the clan. Those who opposed him where killed and he took their horns and the scars given to him as trophies”

Ahsoka grimaced, it wasn’t the first time she had been told such a story but it made her feel the same nonetheless, angry at the killer and sympathy for the victims. A human had no right to rule over Dathomir just like no outsider should rule Mandalore - as Bo-Katan had told her back three years ago.

“Why are you telling me this?” She asked with a calm and low voice, the Nightbrother’s gaze flickered away just for a second before returning back to her, staring into her eyes.

“He is Force-sensitive Mistress Tano, and with the weapons he wields, he is possibly a Jedi.”

Her body froze at the reveal, a Jedi had done this? No that couldn’t be right, a Jedi never would. But a Sith, one on the dark side of the Force, could. Three years ago was when the Republic fell and the Jedi were accused of treason, so perhaps the human male was a Jedi and had fallen to the dark, and if he was on this planet for three years, it wouldn’t surprise the Togruta. 

Ahsoka began to realise why Rorgun was telling her this. “You want me to defeat him.”

Rorgun nodded. “Indeed, I sense the Force within you and have seen your lightsabers on your body. My brothers and I are not strong enough to defeat him, but I believe that you are.”

His words sounded so familiar to her, her mind took her back three years ago in the throne room of Sundari, when Maul gave his speech and offered her an alliance to take down his former master. The situation she was in now was so very similar and she couldn’t help but think this was the work of the Force, giving her another chance to repair the damage she felt she was responsible for all those years ago, and to this day.

“I’ll do it.” She nodded at him with a new look of determination, she wasn’t going to fail this time; no she would free these people of the fallen Jedi and give them their freedom back.

Rorgun’s shoulders sagged in relief and Ahsoka could feel emotions rolling off him, it made her heart ache to feel just how long he and his clan were waiting for someone like her to help get out of the human’s rule. She was even more determined not to fail, and if it came to the only option to kill the human, then she would.

“Can you give me more information about him that would help?”

“He stays within the Tomb of Kujet, it is haunting with great power of the dark side of the Force. He is also guarded by the last of our sisters, if she were to know that you are Jedi then she will do everything in her power to make you leave.”

“Well then,” Ahsoka gave a small sigh. “It’s a good thing I’m not a Jedi.”

* * *

“It is a bit of a journey to the Tomb, but with your ship it won’t as long” Rorgun told her as he handed her a small pouch that she attached to her belt. “Young Tervhum has told me that you only have rations so I have provided some meat and other foods to help satisfy your hunger. I have also added a bottle for you to drink as well.” 

“Thank you.”

“The Tomb is just north up ahead.” He pointed forward, the view of mountains and fallen rocks surround it. “When you get closer you will start to see it appearing.”

Ahsoka nodded, even though she was taking her freighter, she would have to land still a bit away from the Tomb and make her way on foot. She felt a small sense of dread for the journey but thanks to her Jedi training she should make it there quicker then the average human, and possibly a Nightbrother. 

Rorgun turned to her, uncertainty in his voice as he spoke. “Are you sure that you do not require any of the men with you?”

Ahsoka shook her head. “No thank you Rorgun, your people have suffered enough already. The next time they’ll see this leader is when I bring his dead body back, given that he won’t fall anywhere.”

“Your words and kindness are much appreciated, Mistress Tano.” He smiled and she could tell it was a genuine one, if this what he was like as she prepared to go, she wondered what Rorgun would be like when she would come back with the completed task. By the information she was given the Nightbrothers might have another feast, only much bigger.

“Ahsoka!” Tervhum ran up to them, a troubled look on his face as he stopped in front of her. “Ahsoka! Are you leaving?”

Ahsoka smiled and shook her head. “No Tervhum, just doing a little outing.” Rorgun asked her not to tell Tervhum of their plan and she understood, she had asked him earlier if Tervhum knew anything of the human male given that he was still here when the human became leader. Apparently all the children knew and were warned not to go against him, they were scared of the man so if Tervhum knew what she was doing, he wouldn’t take it well.

“Can I come with you?” He asked with some hope and Ahsoka shook her head.

“I’m afraid I’ll be heading a bit far out and might not be back for a while, I’ll be gone for a while and mostly likely encounter some creatures that might not be happy to see me.”

“B-But what about my powers, the Force! I can use it to help you.”

Ahsoka gave him another smile and placed her hands on his shoulders. “I’m afraid this will be a little too advanced for you Tervhum, but when I come back I can teach you a few things to use in the future, if you’ll like?”

His eyes lit up in excitement. “Really?!” When Ahsoka nodded he beamed. “Ok! Promise that you’ll come back and teach me.”

“I promise.” She chuckled and poked his forehead, making him giggle. She stood back and turned to Rorgun, both nodded and she turned back to Tervhum. “I’ll be going now, Rorgun will be with you during nightfall to keep you safe ok?”

“Ok.” He nodded, his expression changed to worry and Ahsoka was about to ask him what was wrong, but he lunged and wrapped his arms around her waist, hugging her tightly. Ahsoka stood shocked for a couple of seconds before returning the gesture, rubbing his back soothingly. “Be safe Ahsoka.”

“I will Tervhum, thank you.” They pulled apart and she gave him a small rub on his head before going into her Freighter, the runway quickly shutting behind her as she walked into the cockpit and sat in the pilot's seat and started the engines. As the freighter lifted off the ground, Ahsoka took more look at Rorgun and Tervhum, both smiling as they saw her. She gave them a smile and a wave back before turning back to the controls and guiding her ship into the sky, before flying north.

She couldn’t but feel like she was being watched, and not by the two Nightbrothers that saw her off. 


	5. A Familiar Enemy

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> On her way to the Temple, Ahsoka encounters an all too familiar enemy

Although the sky got a bit clear and showed stars, Ahsoka was still feeling the dread of what was to come. She had been up against Sith before, but this would be the first time she would face that was previously a Jedi; not including Barris who at that time she thought was Ventress.

But it made her wonder, if this human male crashed here three years ago, his ship must have been attacked given the events that went on; and if he was previously a Jedi, then he might have been with clones and been forced to kill them. The memory of her own men made her shudder, she knew it wasn’t their fault and it was the chip in their brains that caused it, a command by Palpatine to get rid of the Jedi to ensure his rising. 

It still pained her to this day, remembering how they fired at her, tried to kill her while wearing her colours. The least she could do for them was give them a burial, finally letting them rest after their service. She didn’t know how long she and Rex stayed there and cried at the sight of her men - his brothers, that in the end, were still people they loved. 

But now wasn’t the time to think about the past, she needed to focus on the present and the task at hand. She flew across the mountains Rorgun pointed at, with the sky clear she could see a Temple and flew closer, once she had an outline she decided that this was far enough to fly and settled her Freighter down on a large piece of rock that was held together in a pillar of others and attached to a cliff; perfect. 

Ahsoka gently lowered it onto the ground and opened the runaway, patting her hips to feel her lightsaber and pouch, she deemed herself ready before walking onto the runaway and out back into the Dathomir air. It was a bit windy as she was high up with a small feel of coldness, but the warmth still prevailed. She thought about wearing her cloak but decided against it, the weather wasn’t bad and there is no point hiding herself from the human male and the Nightsister that protected him. The Nightsister hates Jedi and Ahsoka wasn’t one, but she knew the women would see her lightsabers and tell her differently; it was better for the Nightsister to see them openly instead of hiding them and possibly make her angry. 

She looked up at the far outline of the Temple, rocks and hills in her vision that she would have to work her way across to get there. To anyone it would be too much, but Ahsoka had Jedi training as well as a bit of her own that she learnt in the last three years, she could do this no problem. 

The sand and pebbles crushed beneath her boots, it was the only sound along with the wind that was up here. Ahsoka has been to many unusual and strange places before that looked a lot more terrifying then this, but it’s silence and the chaos that awaits her beats the others. It was like a horror film but neither was portrayed solely on the victim or killer; she was the one going to him with the intent to kill, but perhaps he was waiting for her - given how powerful he must have become and waiting to strike her down.

Ahsoka had to come to terms with the fallen Jedi might be someone she knew, whether or not it was someone she would greet in the Temple whenever they walked past each other, occasional small talks or someone she had fought alongside with. If there was anything of recognition or some sort of bond she shared with the fallen Jedi, she would have to push through and do what needed to be done. 

_ Is that how you’ll treat it with Vader? _ A voice in her head asked and she knew it was her conscience, giving her a reality check. She didn’t like to think on the thought, on remembering that Anakin had fallen and now served the Emperor Palpatine; people in the galaxy didn’t know that he was Sidious, the Sith Lord the Jedi had been looking for. But Ahsoka knew, and if they’re were any surviving Jedi out there then they knew too. Of course such information could break Palpatine’s hold on the galaxy and his rule but they needed evidence, otherwise he could turn it around and lie again. 

But then surely the news of Anakin Skywalker being Darth Vader would come into the light and that would cause even more damage, his name was still recognised throughout the galaxy as the “Hero without Fear” and recognised as to be loved by the Republic for his work in the Clone Wars. If it was revealed to everyone that he had fallen and helped Palpatine rule then everyone would want him dead more so then ever, and the light of his memory and deeds would vanish. Ahsoka didn’t want that, as much as it hurt her to see that he had fallen; she didn’t want his life as Anakin to fade away, in the galaxy and in himself. 

But is there any Anakin Skywalker left? Ahsoka didn’t know but had to believe that they’re was still some of his in that black suit of armour, that he wasn’t completely gone and that there was still some hope. But what could she do? She couldn’t reveal herself to him as it would jeopardise everything she had built with Bail with the Resistance, Anakin - Vader would hunt her down and would surely get rid of anyone who got in his way. She shuddered to think of the lengths he would go through and what would happen to her if he caught her, would he kill her like the rest? Or would he spare her? Maybe he would use her to find information about the Rebels and the Resistance, and try and look for surviving Jedi. 

She kept walking and jumping over the rocks as she thought, the occasional one of joining Maul on Mandalore came to her again and she had a hard time pushing it away. If she did take his hand then maybe none of this would have happened, maybe they could have defeated Sidious and she could have saved Anakin, they could have saved the entire galaxy. 

_ “We could have destroyed Sidious!” _

_ “Only for you to take his place!” _

Ahsoka knew she was right in that moment, with Sidious gone Maul would have done everything to ensure that he had that power and rule over the galaxy. She didn’t know it he would of been different then his former master but she knew that he would go after Obi-Wan, lock him up in a cell and torture him until he broke. He might have killed Anakin like he said he would and then what would have been left for her? Would he have killed her or make her his apprentice? Ahsoka knew of the Sith code of Rule of Two, and Maul wouldn’t be the Sith lord if he didn’t have an apprentice. 

She shook her thoughts, she was too absorbed in them and what she was thinking was dangerous. Calming herself and getting back together, Ahsoka focused on the task at hand and noticed that she was quite far from her ship already as she turned back to look, and turned back to continue her journey. 

The closer she got to the Tomb the more she felt the dark side radiating off it, it was little at first, tinglings but then grew into clouds. Ahsoka had felt the dark side before but this was entirely different, the Sith she had faced had nothing compared to this, and given that the fallen Jedi stays within the Tomb, then his power must be far greater then Ventress and possibly Maul.

The feeling of dread came back, if this was true then did she have enough power to stop him? She had clashed with Ventress many times and it ended with either one of them winning or Ventress getting away, she had faced Maul and beat him but neither of them was fighting to kill; if they did she didn’t know what would have happened. 

A sudden cry caught her attention after she had climbed up a far rock, Ahsoka looked up and smiled; of course she would be followed by her guidance. Holding her arm out the source of the cry came and landed gently on her arm, the red sky did nothing to hold back the gorgeous green and whites of the feathers and other features.

“Hey there girl.” She stroked the body of the owl, getting a coo in return. The feeling of being watched came back and at first she assumed it was Morai, the owl who had been watching over her for the last three years. She knew it was connected with the Daughter, it’s colour pallet gave it away and how it always followed her, given that the Daughter gave her own life force to save Ahsoka back on Mortis.

But as she went deep into the feeling she was shocked to see that it wasn’t the owl, it was dark with lingering sinister and anger, but confused and filled with intrigued. This definitely wasn’t Morai, who was all light, calm and loving. 

Could it be him? Had the fallen Jedi sensed her coming and came out to look for her? Her body tensed and her hands went to her lightsabers on her belt, Morai fluttering to her shoulder when a sudden thought came to her, if this was the fallen Jedi then surely his presence would be powerful, radiating with the dark side and what she felt was...weak. 

No this wasn't him, it was something - somebody else that had followed her. Ahsoka dug into the presence, there anger, hate, intrigued; all the emotions she felt before. It felt...familiar.

Morai gave another cry and Ahsoka spun around, lightsabers in her hand and activated as she started at a shadow between the boulders that were beside her - now in her front view. A small chuckle came and her body tensed, she heard that chuckle before and it was for the same thing - amusement.

She saw an outline move and seconds later the clanking of feet hit her montrals, Ahsoka shifted on her feet as the body slowly came into view and she angled her lightsabers in front of her, ready for an attack. Covered by a long black tunic and hood up, but it didn’t hide the metal feet that crushed the sand and small rocks when stepped on the ground.

Her breath hitched when the hood was pulled back, revealing the all too familiar red and black tattooed face with yellow eyes that were looking at her with hidden beaming, Ahsoka wasn’t sure what to think of it - only that after they’re last encounter, he surely wanted revenge or something like that against her.

He took a few steps towards her but she stayed still, gripping her lightsabers and glaring at the figure before her, her eyes watching his every moment so closely. 

“Well this is a surprise.” His voice is smooth just like she remembered, spoken with amusement and interest just like back in the throne room. “I wondered why I felt such a familiar presence here in all places.”

Ahsoka gave no reaction which allowed him to continue, a smirk appearing on his lips. “It’s been a while, Ahsoka Tano.”

“Maul.” 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Maul finally makes his appearance! I wanted to end it on a cliffhanger, our second main character is here, and I hope you enjoy the journey i give him :)


	6. A Common Enemy

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ahsoka and Maul meet after three years, and come to a surprising alliance.

Neither of them moved from their place, Ahsoka still with her lightsabers out to protect and be ready for battle as Maul stood before her, his hands were behind his back - another thing she saw so much of from him three years ago. They stared at each other as the wind blew, Maul’s long tunic flowed through it as well as the ends of Ahsoka’s lekku. 

Finally, to what seemed like forever, Maul spoke. “You can put your lightsabers away Lady Tano, I’m not going to fight you.”

The way he addressed her made her confused, he knew her name so why not say it? She shook the thought out quickly and kept her glare. “Considering our last encounter I find that very hard to believe.”

“Ah yes. Back on the cruiser three years ago.” He hissed out and she tensed more, anger slowly radiating off him. “Where you left me to die.”

“I could say the same thing.” Ahsoka hissed right back and expected it to continue, but was surprised when the anger faded and his lips tugged.

“Yes I’m sure we both did things we regret back then.” His eyes bore into her and she knew exactly what he was talking about, the memory of the throne room and the many thoughts of her joining up attacked her mind almost everyday. 

But she wouldn’t let that show. “What do you want Maul? You’re not here to fight me as you say, so why are you here? And don’t give me the bullshit of coming back to your home planet.”

He chuckled loudly and she could see his teeth accompanied by his fangs, they were no longer the disgusting rotten yellow she had last seen but instead a clean white, it looked like he was taking some care of himself. “It’s good to see the fire in you that hasn't gone Lady Tano, given the events that have happened.”

She said nothing which allowed him to continue once more. “I suppose the reason why I am here is the same as you.” 

Ahsoka raised a brow at him. “The Temple of Kujet?”

“Yes.” He nodded. “I have sensed a presence there, one I do not know but it’s very powerful. They bask in the dark side the Temple feeds off and if they are not taken care of, then they will bring death and horror to my home.”

The words he spoke surprised her a bit, it sounded like he actually cared for something. Then again this is his home, so perhaps he was protective of it. But his last sentence stuck with her, the fallen Jedi had already brought those things, why doesn’t Maul say so?...Unless he didn’t know.

She made her voice careful as she asked. “Have you not been to the Nightbrothers village?”

He raised an eyebrow at her, confused. “I have not. Why?”

_ Fuck. _ Ahsoka swallowed before she answered. “They told me that the person your talking about is -  _ was _ a Jedi, and that he killed their previous leader Viscus and took over the role. When others opposed him...he killed them all and took their horns as trophies.” 

His anger spiked, roaring out that Ahsoka almost stumbled. She bit her lip and watched him as his face turned; blazing yellow eyes that screamed fire and teeth gritted. 

“I see.” He growls like an animal waiting to jump on it’s prey. “Then it is certain that this  _ Jedi _ of yours will be disposed of.”

“He’s not a Jedi.” Ahsoka snapped. “Not anymore, he can’t be one with all the things he’s done.”

Maul stared at her with an unreadable expression. “Are you here to kill him Lady Tano?”

“I am.” She doesn’t hesitate to answer, she’s telling the truth after all, she wasn’t going to try and convert this fallen Jedi back to the light or let him live. He had been doing this for three years and hurt so many people, it was too late for him - plus Ahsoka didn’t want to try and get him back to the light, it would be a slap in the face to the Nightbrothers which she didn’t want.

His eyes sparked and the corner of his lips tugged, she could clearly see a fang. “Then perhaps it would be in our best interest to work together.”

_ “They cannot defeat Sidious!...But together, you and I can.” _

The irony of all of this was really starting to but the Togruta, so many similarities with a similar outcome if it was successful. 

Ahsoka thought about it, she could feel the darkness of the Tomb and it was overwhelming for her at this distance, and it would only grow stronger the closer she got. If she worked with Maul to get rid of the fallen Jedi, it might work.

But then what? Obviously she would go back to the Nightbrothers village and tell them the good news, perhaps partake in their feast and go back to Bail to await her next mission or do some work of her own. But what about Maul? What would happen after they kill the fallen Jedi? Would they part ways? Would he allow her to leave? Would he try and fight her - kill her?

The possibilities were endless in all different endings and situations, but one thing for certain was that with Maul with her, the fallen Jedi would die.

She deactivated her lightsabers and returned them to her hips as she stood, Maul’s eyes watched her every move, they widened slightly of her movements.

“We’ll work together.” She said sharply with a glare. “But you give the slightest hint of betraying me, and the fallen Jedi won’t be the only one to die.”

He huffed a small laugh, amusement by her words. “You are certain Lady Tano?”

“I went for your neck once Maul, and I’ll do it again if I have to.”

“I believe you.” He said, amusement gone and replaced with truth and belief, it made her tense. She shouldn’t really be making death threats at him but he needed to know that she wasn’t going to let her guard down, he needed to know that she would go after him and isn’t playing a game.

Maul turned away from her and nodded his head at the Temple. “Let’s go.”

Ahsoka doesn’t say anything and followed behind him as he walked, she would keep an eye on him every second they were together, ready for anything he would throw at her.

But at least she had Morai flying above, being her guide as always.

* * *

She didn’t know how long they had travelled for, but the sun was setting, making the sky darker then it already was and the wind slowed down, but the coldness grew just like it did back in the Nightbrothers village. Her Jedi training had come in handy to maneuver through the rocks and cliffs, but had also built up her stamina, she knew that if she didn't have that training then she would have fainted a long time ago. 

But now she was getting tired, and with the coldness turning to freezing, all she wanted to do was to curl up next to a fire and rest her aching bones and feet, she was sure Morai wanted the same for her wings. 

She looked at Maul who fatigue wasn’t affected, perhaps it was the two hearts he had that gave him the large amount of stamina along with his training that allowed him this, she envied him a little.

Nothing was spoken between them ever since they agreed to work together, which was surprising to Ahsoka since she remembered Maul liked to ramble on and thought he would do the same here. She’s happy he didn’t, otherwise their little alliance would have ended very quickly with her trying to kill him for not shutting up.

They climbed up another rock and landed swiftly on the ground, Ahsoka’s legs wobbled but she managed to stabilise herself before moving again. Her body was becoming tired and slowly begged for rest, Ahsoka didn’t want to say such a thing to Maul; she didn’t want to show any weakness or needs in front of him, no he would use them against her or take advantage of them.

They continued walking for a few minutes before Maul stopped and Ahsoka quickly followed, she reached within the Force for any disturbance but found none, so why did Maul stop?

“There’s a cave over there where we can rest.” He points ahead, Ahsoka looks to see that there is indeed a cave, and by the looks of it, it’s a decent size. “Come.”

Ahsoka raised a brow as she followed him and asked. “Why are we resting? Shouldn’t we get this all over and done with?”

“You need rest.” He corrected her and when Ahsoka opened her mouth to deny, he beat her right to it. “I noticed the weight of your breathing and the exhaustion of your body. If we continue then you won’t be in shape to kill that former Jedi, so rest is needed.”

She bit her lip, so Maul saw right through her even when she was trying it and refused to admit it. She didn’t bother giving a snap back at him, he was right after all. 

They entered the cave where it was colder then the outside, maybe the sun didn’t hit here much but Ahsoka didn’t complain, she just needed to sit down. She settled down at the end, leaning against the wall with her legs laying out, her joints cried in relief and she rested her neck gently against the hard cold rock of the cave. She allowed herself to close her eyes for a minute before snapping them open, remembering the Zabrak she’s with who could kill her within a second.

He was standing at the entrance, back to her as he watched the outside. His figure was straight as always with his hands behind his back, giving a stance of power and regalness. 

Eventually he spoke. “I’m going to find wood for a fire.” He turns back at her with a hard look. “Do not move from this place.” 

Ahsoka scoffed. “Yes Sir.”

Maul said nothing as he turned back and left, leaving Ahsoka alone in the dark and cold cave. It was nothing new to her as she had done the same things on missions back in the Clone Wars, but she was never alone then, she always had the clones, Obi-Wan or Anakin with her to keep her company and pass the time. 

They’re all gone now. She disheartened at the fact and bent her knees and brought them to her chest, circling her arms around them. At least Rex was still alive and safe as well as Bail, she had some people that she could see and talk to that she knew closely and would make her feel better. But her communications were on the ship and it would be bad to talk to them while with the presence of Maul, they would be hectic at the sight of the renegade Sith Lord. 

The dark side of the Force had grown stronger when she continued her journey with Maul, she didn’t know such a place could have this power; it was frightening. She wondered how it would affect Maul, given the person he is and associates with the Sith and was strong within the dark side. Could the Temple turn Maul into something more? Could he submit to the darkness and turn on her? Truthfully it wouldn’t surprise her. 

An itch came on her left wrist, it surprised her and she removed her long gloves to see the cause, eyes widening at the bite marks and black veins coming out of it. 

The mark of the Son.

Ahsoka cursed, of course the bite would react to such powerful feelings of the dark side. She rubbed the skin soothingly, trying to get rid of the irritation but failed. She frowned and put her glove back on, nothing was going to help it so why bother with it? Plus it’s not something she wanted Maul to see, who knows how he would react. 

She heard the metal footsteps and straightened up, Maul coming into view seconds later with arms full of wood. He dropped them near her and she looked up at him, he raised a hand and clenched it, the wood on fire within seconds. Ahsoka looked at the fire in shock before she looked back at Maul, who sat opposite her around the fire.

“How did you do that?”

Maul looked at her, the fire illuminating the yellow of his iris. “My mother taught me when I was young, then my Master had me expand my training on it.”

That was the first time Ahsoka had any information on his mother, she wondered what kind of person she was and how Sidious got his hands on Maul. She looked back at the fire, the heat made her relax. “That’s handy to learn.” 

“Indeed.” His voice was laced with thought, as if he found something exciting. “Perhaps I could teach you.”

Ahsoka snapped her head back at him, her eyes wide. She couldn’t speak for a few minutes before finally she managed to. “Why?” 

“Like you said, it’s handy to learn.” His hands lace under his chin as he looked at her, the new position had a brow slightly raised from her. “It would also benefit us to have some trust in each other.”

Trust in Maul? Yeah that didn’t seem like a possibility. What did seem possible was him trying to get her to trust him and then betraying her in the end, or possibly trying to kill her - either way was bad. There was also the possibility of him trying to turn her to the dark side, she wouldn’t put it past him to try.

She frowned at him. “Let me guess, you want me to call you Master as well.”

He smirked. “I wouldn’t object to it.” 

She scoffed and turned her face away from him, looking back at the fire. She wouldn’t turn to the dark side and have Maul as her master, not now, not ever.

The sound of fluttered wings got Ahsoka’s attention, Morai flew in and Ahsoka held her arm out, the owl landed on it within seconds. Ahsoka rubbed the feathers on her chest affectionately, getting a coo in return. 

“You have a strange companion.” Maul said, making her look at him. He looked at Morai in deep thought, trying to figure out what she was. She couldn’t blame him as Morai had such unusual but lovely colours, the fire only illuminated them more brilliantly. “How did you acquire her?”

_ Fuck _ . That was not a story she wanted to tell him of all people and was about to refuse but Morai’s chirp stopped her, Ahsoka looked at her friend who tilted her head with blinking eyes, a small and gentle coo came from her throat and her head gave a slight nod. Force - Morai wanted for Ahsoka to tell Maul?! But why? The convor didn’t answer but gave another encouraging coo and Ahsoka sighed, giving in. If Morai wanted her then it must be done. Her friend had never put her in danger before and Ahsoka believed the same here. 

“Have you ever heard of The Ones? The Father, Son and Daughter?” She eventually asked, and saw Maul’s body stiffen.

“The Nightsisters worshipped them and my Master sought to use their power.”

Sidious knew about them? That shouldn’t surprise her but it did. She swallowed before continuing. “Back when I was a padawan, me and my master were pulled to their planet Mortis where we encountered them. Morai,” Ahsoka gestured to the owl on her arm. “Is spiritually connected to the Daughter...who’s life force lives in me.”

Maul's eyes widened. “How?”

This was part of the story that she didn’t enjoy telling, but it’s needed to fill the blanks. “The Son killed me and the Daughter sacrificed herself to resurrect me.” 

The shock hadn’t ridden itself off Maul’s face for a few minutes, it changed to something she had never seen on him before - but her eyes had to be messing with her. No way was he actually giving her sympathy.

“I see.” His voice was low but she could hear it clearly thanks to her montrals. “Unlike me who was believed to have died, you actually did. And unlike me, your master didn’t abandon you.”

Ahsoka didn’t know how to respond to that, both their masters were a bit of a touchy subject for them both, she was surprised that Maul hadn’t said anything about him yet - directly at least.

“Until three years ago.”

_ There it is _ . “He hasn’t abandoned me.”

Maul scoffed. “Has he not? He serves my master under his new rule and does whatever he says, hunting down surviving Jedi and taking in Force-sensitive children to serve Sidious. If he has not abandoned you Lady Tano then why hasn’t he come for you and done the same thing?”

“Because he thinks I’m dead.” Ahsoka glared at him. “I faked my death and left my lightsabers to sell it. He thinks I’m gone.”

She knew that even if he wore the black armour and served the traitor Palpatine, he would go and find her; but all that he would find was the crash sight, burials for the clones and her lightsabers. All pointing to her being dead, and for Ahsoka to go into hiding without Sidious and his Inquisitors trying to find her, and it allowed her to get to Bail and work for the Rebellion against the Sith Lord and her fallen master.

“And when he finds out your not?”

Ahsoka paused. “Then he’ll hunt me down, and when he gets me...I’m not sure what he will do.”

There was another pause before Maul spoke. “You’ve accepted that he has fallen, like I told you back on Mandalore.”

“If you’re going to say I told you so then don’t bother. I’ve already done that to myself.” Her voice lowered at the end, she didn’t mean it too but it just came as it was. She had told herself those things and her guilt grew daily, if Maul were to hop onto that she might snap.

Morai’s chirping bright her focus back onto the convor who was looking at her pouch, Ahsoka almost cursed at herself for forgetting it. Her convor rested near her knee as she stretched her legs out and untied the pouch from her hip, pulling out a piece of meat and placed it on the ground, Morai instantly nibbling at it. 

She felt Maul staring at her and inwardly cursed, should she give some to him? A part of her didn’t want to and let him starve, but the other was the opposite, telling her that they need to build trust in one another.

Trust. The concept with Maul was foreign, she didn’t trust him at all but if they were going to work together then they needed  _ some _ level. 

Biting back a sigh she turned to him and the sigh of his metal legs stiffened her, could Maul actually consume food? “Can you eat?” She poked her tongue against her cheek as she waited for his answer, hoping it didn’t come off as insensitive.

Why was she worrying about that? 

He shook his head. “My body can only consume liquids.” There was some distaste to his tone, as if he hated talking about what had become of him, well she couldn’t really blame him, she would hate it as well if half of her body was metal. 

Ahsoka dug into her pouch and pulled out the bottled spiced water, it might not be warm now but hopefully it would taste just as good. There was distance between them, too large for her to stretch out her hand and give it to him. Biting back a sigh she stood and walked over to him, ignoring his raised brow and stretched out the bottle.

“Here.”

He glanced at it with suspicion and this time she didn’t bother to hold back a sigh.

“It’s not poisoned, the Nightbrothers gave it to me.”

His eyes widened in shock a bit and he took it from her, their fingers brushed and she could feel warmth from his gloved hand, it was just a few seconds but she found it ever so comforting. She quickly shook the thought out of her head and sat back in her previous seat, giving Morai another piece of meat before taking one for herself. Just like the tea it was spiced but this one was different, it had a tang in it that increased the meat's delicious flavour, nothing like the tea that was calm and soothing.

She heard Maul take some gulps and realised that the journey must have taken some energy out of him despite not saying or showing it, unlike her which she tried to keep hidden but he could see right through it. Perhaps he saw some signs that showed this despite the obvious ones, maybe she could learn his as well. 

She then heard the clasp shut and before she could even stand, he was there, stood beside and towered over her figure with his arm stretched to her. The fire illuminated him in a different angle, causing his yellow eyes to glow and some of his face to darken completely. 

His glowing yellow eyes captivated her, she couldn’t believe that in this moment, that she found them quite beautiful.

Ahsoka blinked, shocked by the thought and her cheeks darkened at how long she started at him, she averted her eyes and took the bottle from his hand, fingers brushed together once again and she forced herself to not think of the warmth. She noticed that he hadn’t moved from where he stood and looked back up at him, he still started at her with his glowing yellow eyes. 

She didn’t know what to do or say, what were her opinions? Her mind was blank as she returned his stare, so much that she could slightly see the red outline of his yellow iris.

“Thank you.”

It was quiet, soft and a hint of genuineness, it shocked Ahsoka and she let it show before quickly shaking it away, and gave him a nod; unable to speak. He returned it and sat back in his previous seat. 

There was silence between them, a little comfortable then before but still tense. Ahsoka went to stroking Morai as she gave her another piece of meat before tying up the pouch and putting it back on her belt, she couldn’t waste the resources in one night.

“You mentioned them before.” Maul’s voice broke the silence, it made her jump slightly before she looked at him. “The Nightbrothers, you mentioned that they told you what this fallen Jedi did. What did they tell you?”

Ahsoka shifted, bending a knee to have one of her feet under the other before she replied. “I found a Zabrak child while on a mission, he was Force-sensitive and was chained up in a locked room. I couldn’t leave him there and so took him back to the Nightbrothers village, they let me stay the night before they told me of their new leader. They saw that I carried lightsabers and want me to defeat him, I agreed because what he’s done is vile and it can’t continue.”

Maul hummed in agreement, at least that's what it sounded like to her. “And you will kill him?”

“Yes. I said I would before didn’t I?” It wasn’t a question but a reminder, back to hours earlier when the sun was still out, and even reminded Maul of their last meeting. 

“It’s not something a Jedi would do.”

“I’m not a Jedi.” 

She could see that her words shocked him a bit but felt some excitement in him within the Force.  _ He probably thinks I’ll go towards the dark. Not a chance in hell that will happen. _

Surprisingly he didn’t ask her anything of that topic, but instead asked another question. “What mission were you on to find a child from here?” 

_ He sure is asking a lot of questions _ . Ahsoka thought, and she didn’t know if it was to keep the conversation going to build something between them or it was his protective instinct of knowing what happened to someone that belonged on his planet - his home. 

She once again swallowed before replying. “We had some information that there was something being held on Arvala-7, in a mercenary encampment owned by the Nikto species….We were told that whatever was being held was an important asset to Sidious. So I went with the intent of destroying it but when I found that it was a child, I couldn’t do it and did the only thing I could do, which was to take him home.”

Ahsoka watched Maul’s reaction closely, looking for sighs where he would reaction in parts of the story - the one twitch at the mention of the child being an important asset to his former master was not surprising.

“If the child was described as an important asset,” Maul said in thought. “Then he must be powerful within the Force.”

She nodded, not surprised that he was putting the dots together. “He is. I’ve felt it and it’s very strong, but untrained and he doesn’t know much about the Force and his abilities. I think they were keeping him in the dark when he was locked up, giving Sidious the advantage of...warping his mind to suit him.”

The words felt horrible to say but they were mostly likely the truth.

“Just like he did with me.” Maul whispered. It shocked her just how much hurt and pain was in his voice, in that moment he wasn’t the former Sith Darth Maul that struck terror into people’s eyes. 

He was just a man.

She wanted to know more about his life, more about being with Sidious. If she could get some information out of him about his former master that they don’t already know, then perhaps it would help them with the Sith Lords eventual defeat. She denied the reason for asking was to genuinely know about his life, it was personal information for him and she didn’t want to intrude even if they’re...somewhat allies at this point. 

Before she could even open her mouth, he spoke. “Get some rest Lady Tano, you will need strength for tomorrow.”

Ahsoka bit her lip, she was tired and she did need rest but it only just occurred to her that she would be sleeping in his presence, how could she be sure that he wouldn’t do something?

Morai chirped beside her, it was firm with agreement with the former Sith. Ahsoka wanted to tell her no, that how can she trust Maul to not betray her and kill her in sleep? Morai chirped again, calling her too paranoid and that she was here to keep her safe. It did comfort the Togruta and she knew that Morai would do anything to keep her alive and safe, so she gave in. 

She changed her position, laying on her side with her back to him, at least with the thought of his face not there when opening her eyes, she could find sleep a bit quicker. 

She felt Morai behind her head, her soft wings brushing gently against her back leku. It wasn’t the first time Morai had done something like this to help her sleep, Ahsoka didn’t need to ask her to do it as the convor knew instantly. 

It was the last thing she felt before she fell into slumber.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ahsoka and Maul finally have an alliance (sort of?) and their paths are going to start anew :)


	7. Contemplation

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Maul thinks over what has happened with his encounter with Ahsoka.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter is short and is basically Maul's thoughts on the events of being in alliance with Ahsoka to take down the fallen Jedi. Next chapter is back to the story but I thought it would be fun to see what's going on in Maul's head.

Maul watched the steady and calm rise of Ahsoka’s body as she fell asleep, the fire didn’t hide her well despite it’s large size. 

When he felt a presence on Dathomir he was quickly on edge, his thoughts immediately thinking of an enemy; Inquisitors, Vader or Sidious himself. 

No, not Sidious. His master knew he was alive but didn’t care, he left him - abandoned him. After all Maul had done for him, he was nothing and was used as a tool for his master’s real plan. Maul bore such hatred for the man and the thirst for revenge, how could he not with the way the old man treated him? Plus he was - used to be a Sith, it was the only way he had ever known. 

His eyes drifted back to the Togruta, she must understand what she felt, she was in the same situation after all. Her former master had betrayed her, left and abandoned her to join the dark side, to serve under Sidious and kill the Jedi. He was everything that stood against the Jedi, she should hate him just as much as Sidious. 

But he didn’t feel that in her when she talked about him, no what she felt was guilt, sadness and pain. He had his suspicions where the guilt came from, either for not taking his hand or for leaving the Jedi Order. The sadness and pain was of course from her bond with her former master, from what he saw from that clone all those years ago - Jesse was his name? Maul didn’t care for it and saw snippets of how close Ahsoka was with her former master Anakin Skywalker, but surely what Maul saw him to become, there must have been accidents where Anakin harmed or hurt her - surely there must have been and she would take his hand when he gave the offer.

Oh how wrong he was. It went to hell as soon as she asked that question, and when he gave his answer, one that was the truth and one she must have noticed within Skywalker, that she would join him. But no, she refused, broke their very short lived alliance. Accusing him of lying, and when he told her his intentions of killing her former master she drew her lightsabers, ready to fight him. There was so much fire in her eyes, so much strength in her and he knew that she was holding back, but so was he; he was trying to not kill her and have her join him - have an alliance of some kind to stop Sidious 

She kept refusing, even when the clones turned she sent him to his death. He always held a bit of hate for how she used him but the more he thought about it the more he understood why she did it, it lessened his hate but it still lingered. 

He had often wondered, after he made his escape, if she had survived or not. She was a fierce warrior and it would have been a shame to see that gone - but she survived, she’s here and this time she’s actually helping him take someone down. It might not be Vader or Sidious, but it’s something, and perhaps if he played his cards right, then the alliance could stay and grow. 

Her companion - Morai was it? It chirped at him and Maul only then noticed that it was gone from Ahsoka’s side and next to one of his metal feet. Strange, from the short time he has seen it, the convor stayed close to Ahsoka, and with her explanation he knew why.

He was told stories about The Ones, specifically the Son and Daughter - the Nightsisters called them the Winged Goddess and the Fanged God. Each learned their ways for the living identities but Maul didn’t know what they did, as Sidious had taken him in at such a young age and only told him of their power - and how it would help them achieve their goal.

To know that Ahsoka had been to Mortis and had seen the Gods made all sorts of questions run through his head, he could finally get information about them that Sidious never could, and never will if Maul made sure of it. 

The convor chirped again, coming closer to his foot and tilted it’s head at him. It was an act of curiosity that made him raise a brow. Slowly he stretched out a hand and once his fingers were in reach, the convor dipped it’s head and leaned into his hand. He could feel the feathers under his gloves as they ruffled and the hardness of the beak, he was no stranger to animals of course but he rarely sort to be...kind to them. They were tools to help his training back with Sidious, and even now apart from his master for so long, he never tried to stroke an animal or gain it’s trust.

His fingers went to the chin and gently rubbed there, the convor purred and leaned more into him, pleased with Maul’s actions. 

Maul found himself pleasantly relaxed as he continued his actions with the convor, it didn’t hiss, snarl or make any move to harm or kill him like the others he had encountered. The convor was also soft, beautiful even to look at - again unlike the others. 

He pulled his hand away and changed his position, leaning back slightly on his hands as his knees laid on their side. Morai had quickly moved, flying onto his lap and beading eyes as she looked up at him. Maul resumed his actions and she was more then pleased by them, purring in his touch again and nuzzling.

Morai then stood straight, feathers on her back stuck out and Maul paused his hand. The convor looked back on Ahsoka and quickly flew over to her, landing near her head and searched her face. Morai looked at him, chirped and flapped her wings a little - she was calling him over.

He raised a brow, confused at the action but nevertheless followed. He stood over the Togruta and found nothing out of the ordinary, he looked back at the convor who was brushing her feathers over the skin of Ahsoka’s arms. Maul knelt down near her back and leaned over, gaining a closer look.

Being so close, Maul couldn’t help but stare at her, the time he had seen her was three years ago, and both of them had changed. He did not know what went on in her mind, but the three years did good on her physically, She had grown a few inches in height as did her montral and lekku, her arms are more toned and the white markings on her face and stretched along the skin. She was a bit older and looked more mature then she did before, but the fire and snippiness in her had stayed; good, if they had gone she wouldn’t be the same, and she probably wouldn’t have survived for as long as she has. 

Of course there were some...other aspects of her that had grown but he would look nor touch - he’s not like those disgusting and barbaric males out there, certainly not like Cad Bane and the Hutts. 

The convor chirped again and when he looked at her, she only nodded her head down to the Togruta before him. Just what was she trying to say? Maul looked back at Ahsoka and narrowed his eyes as he roamed over her, and saw her slightly shaking.

He cursed, if she was facing the other way then she wouldn’t have this problem, but should he really be surprised that she faced away from him? He signed and stood, undid the knot of his robe around his waist and pulled it off, he knelt beside her again and gently laid it over her body, making sure she was fully covered from the neck down. Morai chirped in a tone of approval, so that's why she wanted him over here, to help.

The convor stayed true to her duty and looked out for the Togruta, even if it meant with the help of another - as long as Ahsoka was well then she was doing her job right.

Maul’s eyes drifted back to her face and watched her breathe and slowly stop shaking, her face was calm and peaceful - it was the first time he had seen a soft expression on her face, and it suited her. They went to her facial markings, ones he had always been interested in when he first saw then, he knew little about the Togruta species and wouldn’t mind learning about them; from what he saw from Ahsoka, they were interesting.

He didn’t know he had moved his hand before it was too late, she slightly jumped when his gloved hand touched her cheek and he sat frozen, not knowing what to do next. Ahsoka twitched but quickly relaxed, slumber taking over her again. Maul held his breath as he slowly touched her skin again and was relieved when she didn’t move, ever so gently his fingertips traced the marking on her cheek. Despite wearing gloves he could feel her warmth heating from her skin, and for a second he let himself get intoxicated by it - before pulling away quickly and sitting back in his previous position - away from her and near the fire.

He didn’t know what possessed him to touch her, and if somehow - by a long way that if she would ask him to - he would give in within a heartbeat. 


	8. Begin

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ahsoka and Maul continue on their journey to the Temple of Kujet where they meet a mysterious person, and come to see the fallen Jedi.

The nipping on her leku woke Ahsoka up, it was gentle but annoying and so she had no choice but to break from her comfortable slumber. She opened her eyes and rubbed them to let her vision clear, her first view was the dusty wall - ah right, she was facing away from Maul when she slept. 

She turned to see the fire was out, and only then noticed something over her body, a black long piece of fabric that suspiciously looked familiar.

_ It’s Maul’s _ . Her eyes widened, what was Maul’s robe doing over her body?

The chirp of Morai broke her thoughts, Ahsoka looked at the convor who was looking at her happily, her wings fluttered ever so to show more of this. Ahsoka sat up and pulled Maul’s robe with her, it was soft and warm, something she never really expected from him. She pulled it closer, the edge just under her nose, she followed her Togruta instincts and inhaled the scent - it was odd, dust, wood, metal of course and something else, but what was more odd was that she found herself liking it.

“Having fun?”

She jumped and looked up to see Maul, towering over her with a smirk - amused by her sniffing his robe. She felt her cheeks darken and cursed, she really hoped her blue stripes stayed the same. 

Ahsoka looked back down at the robe, the previous question in her mind coming back to her. “Why was this on me?”

At least the smirk was gone. “You started to shiver during the night, I’m surprised you didn’t bring a cloak or such with you.” 

She did actually, she just left it back in the ship. But she wasn’t going to tell him that. 

She stood and noticed just how tall Maul was, sure he would have grown in the last three years but so had she. Before she was just below his shoulder but now she’s passed that, she still needed to look up to see him but not as much.

Ahsoka took the robe off her and held it out to him. “Thank you.”

Maul only nodded and took it off her, and just like the bottle their fingers brushed against each other and - did she just imagine or did Maul linger for a few more seconds? She shook the thought out and watched as he put it back on and tied the knot at the waist, for some reason the act of him putting on clothing made her heart have a little thump. 

_ Stop it _ . “How long has the sun been up?”

“It’s still in the west about midway, I suspect a few hours at least.”

She nodded and made sure she had everything she needed, the pouch on her hip with meat and the bottled water secured on her belt, and most importantly her lightsabers. She hadn’t used them in a while as she had to keep them out of sight, fear of anyone seeing them and would report it to the Empire.

There wasn’t anything said about confirmation, as soon as they were ready they headed out, Morai following up above. 

There wasn’t much to cover now to reach their destination, one they got over the cliff above the cave the Temple was in view, and much more closer then before. It wouldn’t take them as long as the day before, hell maybe not even half a day to get there and finally put an end to the fallen Jedi’s horrid rule.

A few moments passed, jumping over rocks and cliffs before Maul broke their silence. “I’ve been meaning to ask about your lightsabers.” He turned his head back to look at them hanging on her belt. “How did you make them white?”

Well, this certainly wasn’t what she was expecting. She answered anyway. “They originally belonged to an Inquisitor called the Sixth Brother, the kyber crystals he had were calling to me so when I defeated him, I took them. I rid the red of them and when I used my finished lightsabers, they were white.” 

She remembered that moment clear as day as it was the day she stopped running, sure she was helping a moon rebel against the Empire but not with the weapons she always fought with. She picked up mechanical parts just as a hobby but the Force called to her, made her look at them and put them together; before she knew it two hilts were built. She knew then that she needed the kyber crystals and always heard the song with the Inquisitors, then once she saw the white when they were activated, it was complete. 

Ahsoka knew from then on that these were her real weapons, Anakin’s words rang through her head when she looked at the light glow. 

_ “Your lightsaber is your life Ahsoka, lose it and well...just don’t ok? Keep it safe.” _

Her lightsabers she built all those years ago, the one’s he gave back to her - the ones she left behind on that moon after burying those clones. Those lightsabers were her past that she needed to let go of - the ones she had now were her future where she would fight to see.

“Fascinating.” His voice brought her back to the present. “The Inquisitors, like the Sith, bleed the crystals to make them red. But you…” He stopped and fully turned to her, Ahsoka stopped just inches away, surprised by his sudden halt. “You healed them.”

The way he looked at her with his eyes, staring down at her, glistening in...admiration. It made her stop breathing as he has never looked at her like that before, she had seen that look on other people that gave it to her, but the way it is with Maul - it was different, it made her feel...warm.

“I…” She had to swallow to finish her words. “I never thought about it that way.”

He gave a slight hum, his lips tugging ever so slightly and his hand reached out, setting on her valley between her montrals. Ahsoka was shocked by the action, her widened eyes stared at him. His touch was warm like before but strangely comforting, she didn’t move at all, frozen on the spot. She then watched his expression quickly change to shock and his hand was gone, returned to his side and she found herself once again missing his warmth and touch. 

“We should get going.” He turned out and began to walk away, Ahsoka had to jog to reach him, and settled with being behind like before. She noticed his pace had quickened and his shoulders were tense, hands clenched.

_ Strange. _

* * *

The entrance of the Temple of Kujet was finally in view in front of them, and it was so close that Ahsoka could see the golden door. 

_ Finally _ . After a whole day and less then a half of climbing, jumping and moving over the rocks and cliffs, they had arrived at their destination.

The dark side was so very strong, like a cloud surrounding her but letting her breathe. The irritation of the bite mark the Son gave her came back but stronger, she winced and rubbed the area through her glove. Just like last time it didn’t help. 

“Are you hurt?” Maul asked as he looked at her, if she wasn’t so focused on not letting him know then she would have seen worry in his yellow eyes. 

“I’m fine.” She replied and removed her hand from her wrist, taking the initiative and started to walk towards the Temple, the entrance getting closer. She heard Maul walking behind her and tried not to pay attention to him, but if they were going to work together to defeat the enemy, then she would have to do the opposite.

Suddenly, green mist appeared just before the entrance making Ahsoka stop, Maul was then quickly in front of her, his arm slightly out - as if he was protecting her. The mist formed into a figure before disappearing in sparks, revealing a young girl with silver hair tied at the back of her head, leaving strands on the left side of her face; brown eyed and pale skin with two grey lines on her forehead meeting the corner of her eyes, two more grey lines on both cheeks with the top meeting her nose and the other just ending before it. She wore a dark red robe with black tights underneath and black boots, her whole aura was warning and Ahsoka could feel her power within the Force - despite her young age, this girl was powerful. 

“You trespass.” She spoke, just like her aura her tone was warning. “Jedi.” she spat out the word in disgust, the Nightbrothers warned her about her hate towards them, and so wasn’t surprised.

“We, are not Jedi.” Maul spat the word out with more venom then the girl, once again Ahsoka wasn’t surprised and intervened before the possibility of the two before her having a death talk.

“Your the Nightsister that guards the man here, aren’t you?” She spoke softly. “The Nightbrothers told me about you.”

The girl frowned at her. “Why would my brothers tell you about me?”

_ Ok be careful now Ahsoka, remember she guards the fallen Jedi and so might have some sort of bond with him _ . “They sent me here.”

“Why?”

“To kill that murderous fake leader of the Nightbrothers.” Maul spat and narrowed his eyes at the girl. “Now move,” He then pulled out his lightsaber which Ahsoka noticed wasn’t the one he used on Mandalore, and ignited it. “Or I’ll make you.”

“Maul!” Ahsoka hissed. This girl might be young, a threat but still - threatening wasn’t the way to go at this moment.

The girl’s eyes widened and Ahsoka assumed from his threat and weapon, but was surprised when in fact it was something she herself said. “Maul...Your name is Maul?” 

Maul didn’t answer but his eyes became more narrow, and the girl spoke again. “Your Mother Talzin’s son.”

Maul’s body stiffened at the mention of the name, and Ahsoka put the pieces together. She had heard of Mother Talzin from Anakin and Obi-Wan when they were on the hunt for Savage, all the Nightsisters and Nightbrothers called her Mother, but now Ahsoka knew that she was actually Maul’s mother - blood related unlike the rest.

“She talked about you.” The young girl continued. “She called you the “Son of Dathomir” and spoke proudly of you. Sometimes I would find her alone missing you-”

“Enough!”

“Maul!” Ahsoka quickly grabbed his arm that held his lightsaber, aiming for the young girl who flinched. He whipped his head to her with a glare, she had seen that look before on him but this time it had a lot more intensity to it, setting off a feel of fear in her. Ahsoka pushed it down and glared back, it might not be as hard but he got the message and deactivated his lightsaber. Ahsoka pushed him behind her and stepped forward, the young girl before her almost radiating fear.

“Look.” She sighed. “We here to put an end to the man you guard, he has done many terrible things and needs to be stopped. He’s killed many innocents and if he gets off this planet, then he’ll kill more.”

The girl bit her lip, her hands slightly shook as they came together. “Why should I trust you? The Jedi murdered my sisters.” She managed to say with venom. “An armoured warrior brandishing four of those,” Her eyes went to the lightsabers on Ahsoka’s waist and Maul’s hand. “Came and wiped them all out, until I was alone.”

An Armoured warrior with four lightsabers, Ahsoka instantly knew the thing the young girl was referring too. “The one you speak of is General Grievous, and he was no Jedi.”

Before the young girl would speak again, Maul cut in. “He worked with Dooku under Darth Sidious, or how the galaxy knows him is Emperor Palpatine. They are the ones who murdered the Nightsisters, not the Jedi.”

It felt weird to Ahsoka to hear Maul defending the Jedi - well not defending but stating true facts.

Now the young girl was conflicted, Ahsoka could see the thoughts and feelings running through her, her own thoughts of this girl having a bond with the fallen Jedi must be true then, seeing how she was reacting. 

Ahsoka decided to push a bit more. “He killed many of your brothers. Please, let us past so we can avenge them.”

That seemed to set something off in her, her body stopped shaking and her eyes hardened. “I will help you avenge my brothers, but you must do something for me after it is done.”

Making a deal with a Nightsister wasn’t Ahsoka’s ideal situation, luckily she didn’t have to say anything as the Zarabk did.

“We’ll bargain after that man is dead.”

Whether it be Maul’s actions from earlier or the three of them coming to some understanding, the young girl nodded, her aura had changed - Ahsoka could feel within the Force the betrayal, anger and determination the young girl felt; maybe this fallen Jedi told her lies such as the Jedi murdering the Nightsisters that caused her to feel this way. If that was the case then her anger for the man only grew, how dare he manipulate someone, especially a child, with such lies for her to be loyal to him.

“I will guide you through the Temple.” She said before the golden door behind her opened, she said nothing as she turned away and began to walk away. Ahsoka quickly followed with Maul coming up beside her, the inside was much different then what she expected it to be; the black continued but with many large vines on the walls and orange coloured plants on the side of the ground. There were two pillars opposite each other in the middle of the room, leaving a large space between them, showing a ruined doorway with markings on the wall ahead of them.

“You need to go through there.” She pointed at it. “It’s a bit ruined but enough space to squeeze through to get to the other side.”

Ahsoka nodded and followed the girl, she turned into the familiar green mist and easily flew through. Ahsoka thanked her body for still being a bit slim as she squeezed through the passageway, she heard Maul’s annoyed grunts and turned to see him once she was out. Maul was larger then her and was metal from the waist down so of course he would struggle more then her, she had to bite her lip from laughing at the sight.

“You alright there?” She asked with a bit of a tease as he came out, he glared at her but her amusement only increased. Ahsoka turned away from him to see the view ahead of them,

There was a long path of black that led to what she saw was a large circle on the ground, a line of red light and a figure that stood there.

_ That’s him _ . Ahsoka tensed, the fallen Jedi who had killed all those innocent Nightbrothers and very possibly manipulated the young girl was right in front of her. She heard Maul hiss as he came beside her and felt his anger increase, his body slightly shaking with anticipation and his heavy breathing, his fists clenched his lightsaber tighter.

“Maul.” She spoke his name softly as she turned to him. “I understand your anger, but you need to calm down and think rationally. We can’t just run in there and fight him, we have to be ready.”

Her words seemed to work as his breathing slowly went to a calm pace and his body stopped shaking, his anger was still there but had decreased ever so slightly to allow him to think and focus. He let out a sigh before he turned to her, his yellow eyes glowed slightly under the darkness in the Temple.

“If he has been here for three years then he must be strong with the dark side, whether he will fight calmly or ruthlessly, he will be powered by anger. This could be used as an advantage to us to have him lose his focus.” He explained to her, but it was nothing she already knew. “With a former Sith and former Jedi against him, I believe that we will have the upper hand.”

Ahsoka hummed, trying to formulate a plan in her head. “If we both approach him at the same time then he’ll most likely attack us. If he truly is a fallen Jedi then we can use that as an advantage, if I approach him alone he might let his guard down. I might be able to get him to talk or lose his focus enough for you to jump in from behind.” 

Maul thought for a moment before he replied. “Your plan sounds plausible, but what of this fallen Jedi doesn’t want to talk and attacks you as soon as he senses you.”

She then gave him a grin, eyes lightened in amusement. “Then I guess you have to be my knight in shining armour and rescue me.”

To her surprise he huffed a laugh, and to add to the surprise, she found herself quite liking it.

_ Now really isn’t the time. _

Maul looked around the large room and Ahsoka followed, trying to find a space where he could hide. The green mist appeared beside them and the young girl was back, it was so quiet that if Ahsoka couldn’t sense her, then she probably would have jumped and screamed. 

“I can hide you.” She said as she looked at Maul. “I can keep you out of sight and your presence covered until you need to battle.”

Ahsoka and Maul looked at each other, complicating the idea before agreeing. They didn’t have much time and if the young girl would help, then why not allow her to? 

Maul nodded at the young girl. “Alright.” 

The young girl held a hand out which Maul took, Ahsoka noticed that he was careful not to grip her hand and instead gently curled his fingers around hers, she and Maul had one last quick look before he and the young girl vanished before her eyes.

Ahsoka took a deep breath and looked at the figure ahead, her hands clenched

_ This is it _ .

With one last feel of reassurance, she began to walk down the long black path, her footsteps echoed around the room but the figure never wavered. When Ahsoka got closer she saw there was a low stone bridge leading to the circular area, which now looked like an arena for a battle. 

Very fitting for what was about to happen.


	9. End

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ahsoka faces the fallen Jedi who she comes to recognise, a battle ensures and a surprising night.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is the longest chapter (so far!), so be prepared for a bit more reading then my last chapters :)

Ahsoka reached the bridge and the figure was now much closer then before, and she could see him very clearly. His muscular back was to her where she could see some scars on his pale skin and the bun of his grey hair, he wore black trousers with red plating around his waist.

When she stepped inside the flat ring he moved and Ahsoka stopped as he turned to her, she could now see that his eyes were blue and there were scars on his chest; a circle with two lines at the side opposite each other and four more scars scattered around, two lightsabers on his waist - but that did matter at how shocked she was at who it was.

“Master Malicos?”

_ Taron Malicos. _

His eyes widened. “Ahsoka Tano.” A smile came to his lips which she didn’t like, it didn’t look like the kind ones he would give her when they greeted and walked past each other in the Temple. He walked towards her with open arms and all she could do was stand frozen as he hugged her, gone was the gentle warmth he possessed, replaced by cold.

He stood back and placed his hands on her shoulders. “It pleases me to see that you have survived. I felt many deaths within the Force when my clones turned.”

Ahsoka frowned. “They didn’t turn, they were brainwashed by Palpatine, who was the Sith Lord we had been looking for.”

The fact seemed to shock Taron, he had been stuck here with no ship, so she shouldn’t be surprised. “I see. And I suppose that he has won.”

Ahsoka nodded. “He did. The Republic and Jedi fell.”

“Ahsoka, the Jedi and Republic fell long before the Purge.” He chuckled. “You remember what they did to you, don’t you?”

She bit her lip, she wasn’t expecting him to bring it up. “I do.”

He let go of her shoulders and stood back, his eyes fell onto her lightsaber and shoto. “Ah, I see that you have required new weapons.” He then stretched out a hand. “May I?”

Ahsoka didn’t want him to touch and see them, but for her plan to work she allowed it. It felt wrong to see them in his hands, and when they were activated she shivered at his awe look at the white.

“I have never seen any like these before.” His voice matched his expression. “No colour. I suppose this is because you have no allegiance to the Jedi and Sith.”

“It is.” She confirmed with a nod of her head. Thankfully Taron gave them back to her and she held onto them a few seconds longer before she returned them back on her belt, back where they belonged - with her. 

“The Jedi Order long lost their way, stifled by tradition, deafened by our past glories, blinded by endless war.” He turned away from her and she could feel the anger in his words, he believed every word he said, and so did she. “The Jedi Council was full of pride and arrogance, ignorant on what was going on around them and focused on the politics instead of real lives in need, which you know all too well.”

Ahsoka frowned at him again, why did he keep bringing that up? To get his point across? To make her angry? She remembered how all dark side users try to get inside the others head and make them angry, Ahsoka focused to not let that happen to her.

“I’m surprised to see you on Dathomir.” He said but didn’t turn back to face her. “What are you doing here?” Ahsoka didn’t know how to answer, but he quickly answered it for himself. “Were you drawn to the power of this Temple?”

“I guess you could say something like that.” She said, it made him chuckle and he turned to face her, his smile had widened which made it even more creepy. 

“It’s powerful isn’t it? The dark side.” He spoke in a dreamy whisper that made her skin crawl. “The Jedi Order always warned us about it’s dangers, how it would corrupt us and make us into a savage. They were wrong.” His last sentence was hard with grit, he turned back to Ahsoka with gleaming eyes. “There is so much about the dark side and they don’t know, that you don’t know.”

“What makes you think that?” Ahsoka knew about the dark side more so then a a lot of other padawans and probably Jedi masters, given that she was unwillingly turned back on Mortis, and with what happened to Anakin.

He didn’t answer her but continued. “Join me Ahsoka, come part of my family, I can teach you the ways of the dark side and together, we could build something far better then the Jedi Order that betrayed you.”

_ What is it with dark force users and wanting people to join them?  _ She glared at him, her eyes taking him in and landing on the belt of horns. The Nightbrothers. “You killed innocent Nightbrothers.”

“Innocent? No.” He chuckled as he shook his head. “They opposed me and so must face the consequences.” He gave a sigh. “Those savages only respect strength, and as we both know, the Force Is a most powerful ally.”

“They are not savages.” Ahsoka spat at him. “They are people you forced under your rule with fear, you used the Force to seize power which is wrong.”

Taron’s eyes then beamed. “There it is, there’s the fire and spunk I knew you well for.” Ahsoka glared harder but it only made him grin in excitement. But then his eyes widened and he suddenly gasped, it threw Ahsoka off and made her take a step back. “Oh.  _ Oh _ . What a surprise.” He laughed, cruel and chilling. “You have darkness in you Ahsoka.”

She unconsciously touched her wrists which bore the mark of the Son, she rubbed the area before realising what she was doing and drew her hand away. “Your delusional.”

“No!” He denied loudly and shook his head. “No no I can sense it. I can sense in you Ahsoka, your pain, anger and betrayal. It only fuels the darkness in you.” He stepped forward and reached his hands out, clenching them as he spoke. “Use it Ahsoka, use it and I can teach you about the dark side.”

The bite mark itched again but this time it was more painful, she forced herself to bite back the wince that came at her throat and sneered at him. 

Enough is enough.

She drew her lightsabers, activating the white glow. “Your life ends here Taron.”

He glared at her and called his lightsabers to his hand, activating the red glow. “Then Dathomir will be your grave.”

Taron was quick which didn’t surprise her, he was a former Jedi Master after all. She blocked his attack and kicked him hard in the chest, sending him backwards. No sooner later Maul appeared from the green mist at Taron’s side and swung his lightsaber, he was blocked and Maul jumped back before Taron could try and land a hit, the Zabrak landing beside her.

Ahsoka could feel Maul’s curiosity on what Taron said to her but it was pushed aside to focus on defeating the man before them - good, that would allow Ahsoka to focus more. 

Taron looked at the Zabrak with a grin. “Ah, Darth Maul, Your still alive, and back home. Though I don’t find that very surprising.” He then turned to Ahsoka, eyes glistening. “You refuse the dark side yet work with a Sith?”

“Sure as hell is better then working with you.” She twirled the lightsaber in her hand before going for him, she and Taron clashed evenly given as both were dual wielders, different from Maul’s own. 

Maul was right when he said anger would be the source of Taron’s power, it was mostly aimed at her which she fought back with and used his heavy weight to her advantage, dropping onto the ground and kicking Taron off. When she stood she could see Maul’s grin as she used that attack on him back on Mandalore, and he watched someone else suffer from it. 

Taron gritted his teeth as he stood and threw one of his lightsabers, Ahsoka dodged it in and threw it back at him with more Force, the tip scrapped against his thigh that made him stumble. Maul used this opportunity to jump and go to pierce his lightsaber through Taron, but the man used the lightsaber in his hand to doge; once again Maul jumped back to avoid a kick but kept a small distance so he could continue fighting.

A surge of excitement and power filled Ahsoka as she and Maul fought together, they didn’t have any training together for this the way they both moved around each other and to Taron, it felt so right. It felt like they had been working together for years, knowing each other’s moves and how to help the other, Ahsoka couldn’t help but think - would they have been like this if they fought Sidious?

Taron used the Force to hold his forgotten lightsaber and Ahsoka instantly moved, placing her back against Maul’s as she dodged the attack which would have most likely killed the Zarbak and quickly struck the hilt with her shoto, rendering it useless.

Now Taron was only left with one lightsaber and Ahsoka and Maul moved to keep their eyes on their target. His anger was radiating that it almost made Ahsoka choke, she had never felt anger like this before, not even with Maul.

He roared as he charged at them and both Ahsoka and Maul tensed, gripping their weapons for the upcoming attack. Maul was the first to block the hit and kicked Taron at his torso, making the stumble which Maul took advantage off and kicked his lightsaber out of his hand and did the same as Ahsoka, destroying the hilt with his lightsaber.

Taron glared at the Zabrak and raised his fist when all of a sudden it was surrounded by green sparks, the young girl appeared from the green mist with an outstretched hand as she marched to the old man, a look of anger on her face which Ahsoka easily sensed.

“What is this?” Taron growled as he was forced onto his knees with green sparks coming around him as well as dust.

“It’s like you said Malicos.” She sneered. “Dathomir will be your grave.” She clenched her fist and created large spikes from the ground surrounding his body that slowly descended into the ground, the spikes covering the area and followed suit.

_ Well that was something _ . Ahsoka mused before a wave of exhaustion came over her, she gently fell on her knees and started to breathe heavily, she didn’t notice just how much force and energy she used against him. She saw Maul kneel down on the ground and heard his heavy breathing, the same thing had happened to him.

“Are you two alright?” The young girl asked with worry, Ahsoka looked up at her and gave her a

smile.

“We’re fine, just a bit exhausted from the fight.” Ahsoka turned to Maul who had seemed to regain his breathing and stood, like he just hadn’t been in a battle. 

_ Damn those Zabrak's with two hearts.  _

Ahsoka’s breathing had gotten better though not as good as Maul’s, but that wouldn’t stop her. Just when she was about to get up a gloved hand came to her vision, she paused and looked up to see Maul standing before her with his hand out for her. Her eyes slightly widened as she stared at him, and saw some genuineness in his eyes. She raised a hand and gently placed her hand in his, biting back a gasp when his fingers curled around hers and gently helped pull her up to her feet.

She stumbled a bit and Maul’s other hand came to her shoulder and helped steadied her, once she got equal footing she looked back up at him and said softly. “Thank you.”

His eyes widened slightly, like they did back on Mandalore when she told him that she would help defeat Sidious. Unlike last time she just took his hand which despite being covered with a glove, felt so nice and warm. 

Maul composed himself and nodded at her. “Your welcome.” His voice was just as soft as her’s which made butterflies in her stomach, she didn’t notice they were staring at each other until the young girl coughed, making them slightly jump and look at her.

Despite the voice in her head begging her not to let go, Ahsoka gently removed her hand from Maul’s and stood straight, her breathing back to normal and her legs no longer wobbled. Maul’s hand from her shoulder was gone but she could feel it lingering behind her back. 

“Thank you for your help.”

“I told you, I would help avenge my brother's deaths.”

“And now you want your part of the deal.” Maul answered for them, the young girl and stood before them with her hands together, fingers playing and brushing against each other. She was nervous.

“Malicious promised me vengeance for my sisters if I let him learn our magick, and after everything today I still want to avenge them by going after the real ones who murdered my sisters.”

“I’m afraid that both General Grievous and Count Dooku are both dead.” Ahsoka told her, but that only gave the girl more determination.

“Then I shall go after Darth Sidious and make him pay.”

Ahsoka bit her lip, the young girl may be powerful but not enough for Sidious, if he managed to do what he has done - playing both sides of the war, brainwashing the clones and accusing the Jedi of treason which has lead to their almost extinction - then this girl was no match for him.

“It seems like we have a common goal.” Maul told her and Ahsoka whipped her head at Maul, seeing the gears work in his head. 

_ Oh no, don’t tell me _ .

“You will help me defeat Darth Sidious?”

Maul nodded. “I will.” 

“Maul!” Ahsoka hissed a whisper, he looked at her with a raised brow that only annoyed her.

The Zabrak then looked at them both. “We should leave this place, it wouldn’t be wise to stay here for much longer.”

Her annoyance with him was pushed aside once she realised that he was right, if they walked at a good pace then perhaps that could go even further then the cave they stayed in the previous night and get further to her ship.

“I have a ship but it’s a bit far out.” Ahsoka told him. “We might have to camp the night away before reaching it.”

Maul nodded and turned to the young girl. “What is your name young one?”

“O-Oh, forgive me. I forgot to tell you.” Her cheeks darkened with embarrassment. “My name is Merrin. May I ask yours?” She asked Ahsoka, who smiled and nodded.

“Of course. My name is Ahsoka.” Merrin nodded, taking the new information in. “Now, I think you’ve stayed here long enough, don’t you think?”

Merrin gave a small smile and it was the first Ahsoka had seen on her, it suited her very much and Ahsoka hoped that from now on, she would smile more. She waited for Merrin to be at her side before they all started to walk out of the Temple, the mission was now done and Ahsoka was happy that she saved another child's life.

* * *

True to her thoughts they did make it past the previous cave she and Maul shared the night before, the sun slowly started to set and the coldness came in. Maul had quickly found them a cave to stay in, it was much smaller then the previous one but there was not time to complain.

Maul had gone out for wood again, leaving Ahsoka with Merrin. The young girl was silent on their walk and Ahsoka wanted to know more about her, especially with what Taron told her but also about her life, she knew it mustn't have been a good one considering what she went through.

“Can I ask you something Ahsoka?” Merrin asked her, they sat beside each other, waiting for the Zabrak. 

“Of course.”

“It's about what Malicious said to you.”

_ Fuck _ . Ahsoka knew this was coming, but she expected it from Maul, not Merrin. “What is it?”

“He said that the Jedi Order betrayed you.” Merrin said, confused. “What did he mean?”

Ahsoka sighed. “Back when I was a Jedi, I was framed of terrorism and murder, treason against the Republic. When a Jedi gets accused of the crime they speak with the Council Members to decide their fate, however even before I spoke with them about mine they had already made up their minds to give me to the Republic. They stripped me of my status and banned me from the Order and gave me to the Republic where I would get any punishment they deemed fit, which was a death sentence.” 

Merrin’s eyes widened in shock and Ahsoka kept going. “No one believed in me except my Master and a senator named Padmé Amidala who I was friends with. While Padmé helped defend my case my Master was out looking for the real culprit, and he found her just in time as I was about to get my sentence.” 

Now she was getting to the hard parts. “It turns out that a padawan named Barriss Offee was the one behind it all, and after she committed to the crimes I was set free and went back to the Jedi Temple to speak with the Council members. They...didn’t really apologise, only my Master and another Jedi Master, Plo Koon, did. The others just saw how much I went through to prove my innocents and wanted me back in the Order, and offered me to be a Jedi knight.”

Ahsoka took a deep breath before she continued, it has been a while since she had told someone else why she left, but the emotions were still the same. “I didn’t accept of course, with everything that happened and how easily and quickly they just threw me aside and were going to allow my death, I left the Order and never went back.”

Merrin’s expression had changed to sadness, she obviously didn’t expect what Ahsoka told her. “I’m sorry they treated you like that.” 

“Hey, it’s ok.” She placed a hand on Merrin’s shoulder and gave her a smile. “It’s in the past now, what's done is done.”

Merrin nodded slowly as she was still taking the information in. “Did you know Barriss Offee well? Were you two friends?”

Ahsoka froze, her hand on Merrin’s shoulder lost it’s comforting touch and she drew it away, eyes on the ground. “We were.”

_ We were more then friends. _

The cry of Morai was then heard and Ahsoka immediately stretched out her arm, the feet of the convor landed seconds later and Ahsoka scratched under Morai’s chin which rewarded her a purr. 

Ahsoka noticed Merrin’s eyes widened and a bit of excitement in them to see a creature, and gave her a kind smile. “You can pet her, she won’t bite.”

Merrin slowly reached a hand out and gently let her fingers touch the feathers, Morai cooed and leaned closer to her. Merrin smiled and stroked the chest, resulting in Morai letting out another purr. “What’s it’s name?” 

“Her name is Morai.”

“She’s beautiful.” 

Morai let out a happy chirp that made Ahsoka chuckle, and continued to watch the warm scene.

The sound of Maul’s metal feet echoed as he came into the cave once again, arms full of wood which he put before the two girls and used the Force to light it on fire. Merrin didn’t show any surprise but then Ahsoka remembered that the young girl used magick, and that Mother Talzin and taught Maul the ability, perhaps Merrin could do the same thing with her magic and had seen Talzin do the same thing.

Ahsoka untied the pouch on her belt and opened it, pulling out a piece of meat and holding it in front of Merrin. “Here, have some food.”

“Thank you.” Merrin smiled and gracefully took the meat from Ahsoka's hands and began to eat it, she looked happy which made Ahsoka smile. She gave Merrin another and handed her the bottled spiced tea which was deftly cold now, but the young girl didn’t mind. Ahsoka took a few sips herself before giving it to Maul, who nodded in thanks.

As soon as Maul sat down, which was near Ahsoka, Morai had left the Togruta’s arm and landed on his lap, surprising the two females but not the Zabrak.

“When did you two get so close?” Ahsoka asked curiously as she watched Maul gently stroke along Morai’s feathers. 

“Last night.” He answered casually. “After you fell asleep she came to me and allowed me to stroke her.”

Ahsoka hummed, Morai had gotten close with others then Ahsoka before such as Rex, Bail and his daughter Leia. But it was strange seeing the convor get close with Maul, then again it was Morai who wanted Ahsoka to tell Maul about The Ones and what happened to her on Mortis. 

Morai never bonded with others that she didn’t trust and Ahsoka always trusted the convor, she also knew that she and Maul needed some trust in each other to defeat Taron. But that was done now, so why was Morai still continuing to build that trust?

Said convor looked at Ahsoka and chirped, Ahsoka couldn’t help but smile at her friend and give a little scratch under her chin again, giving her a playful look. “Looks like she likes you.”

“Jealous Lady Tano?” He looked at her in amusement, Ahsoka scoffed

“Please, did you forget that she follows me?”

“Maybe for now.” He hummed. 

“The only way she would stay here is if I did.”

Maul then faced her, amusement now gone as he stared at her. “Then perhaps you should.”

Ahsoka’s breath hitched, warm rising on her cheeks that she was sure had darkened. Why did he say that? Why was she reacting to it this way? She couldn’t phantom any words, Maul saw this and went back to take another sip of the drink.

It was a few seconds of silence before Merrin asked. “Are you two married?”

Uncharacteristically, Maul choked on his sip of cold tea and Ahsoka froze.

“W-What?” Ahsoka’s eyes widened at the young girl, her heart beating fast. “N-No we’re not.”

She raised a brow. “Mates?”

“No.” Ahsoka said without any stutter and took a deep breath. “No, we’re...we’re just allies.”

“Oh.” Merrin looked at the ground, embarrassed. “Sorry for asking.”

“It’s..ok.” Ahsoka told her, Merrin nodded, refusing to look at Ahsoka due to embarrassment. She yawned and her eyelids dropped, Ahsoka couldn’t help but smile at the girl, finding her ever so cute. “Why don’t you go to sleep? We’ll wake you up in the morning when we need to go.”

Merrin nodded and rubbed her eyes. “Ok.” She moved so that she could lay on her side facing the fire without touching Ahsoka, said Togruta kept her eyes on the young Nightsister, watching as her eyelids slowly shut and her breathing changed.

With the young girl asleep, it left Ahsoka and Maul in silence. Merrin’s words hung in the air which made Ahsoka struggling to speak, and so kept silent. But she found it weird to do so, and if this continued, she might not be able to sleep.

“Kids say the most strange things.” Maul said, breaking the small barrier. Ahsoka was grateful for it and let her shoulders relax.

“They do.” She agreed with a hum, but Maul also said the strangest thing as well. “What do you mean by me staying here? We only allied ourselves together to defeat Taron and that’s what we’ve done.”

Maul was silent for a moment, one of his hands still stroking Morai. “When we fought Taron, side by side, I could feel something there between us. Something that kept bringing us together, surely you felt it?”

She did, she remembered the feeling of excitement and how well they worked together, given that last time they fought it against each other. “I did. What of it?”

He turned to her again, a look of disbelief in his eyes. “What of it? Lady Tano, surely you know that when two people are being brought together they mustn't separate. This is the Force telling us to stay together and defeat Sidious.”

Ahsoka tensed, everything was just like before, everything was just like back on Mandalore; the memories that haunted her and made her feel so much guilt. They got more frequent ever since she rescued Tervhum, not to mention the parallels she had experienced on this small journey. Was Maul telling the truth? Was all of this happening because they needed to be together to defeat Sidious? 

She looked at the fire. “I don’t know Maul.” Her voice sounded tired, and after today it shouldn’t be anything else. “After everything he’s done, do you truly believe that me and you alone can defeat him?”

“I am his former apprentice as are you with Skywalker, who else could it be?”

He’s right. Who better then to throw Sidious off his throne and power then them, the former apprentice and probably the people he hurt the most in this world after he succeeded - Maul by abandoning him, and Ahsoka as he took away her master, her brother who she had to watch serve under him.

_ Anakin _ . “I don’t know if I can go against him Maul.”

She wasn’t talking about Sidious and Maul knew this - she knew that. How could she go against him after what he has become? She faked her death to get away from the Empire, and if she showed herself to Darth Vader that it will completely ruin that. And to know that man is her brother, no she couldn’t fight against him, she just couldn’t.

“You have no choice but to.” The words were harsh but he told them ever so softly that it made her look at him to see that his facial expression matched his tone, her breath caught in her throat and her heart thumped against her chest. Dammit why was she feeling this way with him? Was it the Force’s doing? 

It was becoming too much for her, the events of today and all the thoughts running through her head were taking a troll on her. She looked away and wrapped her arms around herself despite the warm fire in front of her, but it did give her some comfort.

“I’m going to sleep.” Her voice had some hardness to it as she stood. “You should get some too.” She made her way opposite Maul, the fire between them and laid down, her back facing Maul just like last time. Despite how “close” they had gotten over the hours, she still didn’t feel comfortable facing him.

She never noticed his soft gaze on her as she fell into slumber.


	10. Mission Complete

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ahsoka, Maul and Merrin go back to the Nightbrothers and give them the news of the death of Taron Malicos. They begin the celebration and Ahsoka reunites with Tervhum, who meets Maul for the first time.

Morning came and when Ahsoka woke up, she was greeted with Maul’s robe on her again. It shouldn’t make her cheeks blush and heart leap but it did, she refrained herself from sniffing it this time and took it in her hands as she stood. Maul was already awake and Merrin was in the process, sitting crossed legged while she rubbed her eyes. 

“You didn’t have to give it to me again.” She told him when she handed it back to him.

“You were shivering, again.” He told her as he put his sleeves through. Ahsoka shook her head.

“What about you? Were you not cold?” 

“It doesn’t matter.” 

“It does.” She said in a firm voice, he froze midway as he tied the knot on his waist, his eyes widened slightly as he looked at her, shocked that she would say such a thing. That made a brow raise on her, his reaction didn’t make sense and before she could say something, he turned to Merrin.

“Are you ready, young one?”

She nodded. “Yes Lord Maul.”

Maul stiffened, as if disgusted with the title. “Just call me Maul.”

“O-Ok.”

Ahsoka gave her a comforting smile and waved her over, when Merrin was beside her Ahsoka put a hand on her head and rubbed it gently. “Don’t worry about him, he’s always grumpy like this.”

It made Merrin giggle and Maul give the Togruta a look of near annoyance, Ahsoka grinned at him and he turned away. She knew he wasn’t really annoyed, she could feel it in him; no he was amused.

They exited the cave with Morai flying above as usual and since they were further then before Ahsoka and Maul were last time, it didn’t take them long to get to her Freighter. It gathered some dust on the outside but that was fine, it would come off either flying or with a little wash. They walked up the ramp and Merrin looked at everything in awe, it reminded Ahsoka of Tervhum and how amazed he was to see the black sky and stars of space. 

She settled herself in the pilot's seat and saw Maul do the same for the co-pilot, it quickly came to Ahsoka that she had no more seats left and Merrin was still standing in the cockpit.

“Looks like you’ll have to sit on my lap Merrin.” Ahsoka gave her a playful smile to defuse the situation, Merrin blushed in embarrassment and stuttered.

“A-Are you sure?”

“Of course-”

“It’ll be better if you sit on mine.” Maul cut her off and looked at the two. “You have the controls Lady Tano, so you need all the space you can get to control this ship.”

He did point out some good facts, Ahsoka turned to Merrin who shifted her eyes between the Zabrak and Togruta. “Is that ok with you Merrin?”

The young Nightsister still looked embarrassed but nodded and went over to Maul, what surprised Ahsoka was that he was so gentle with her, putting an arm on her back and - did she just imagine that soft smile he gave her? Ahsoka shook her head as she turned to the controls and started the engines up, the runway quickly shutting as the ship slowly came off the ground. 

It took seconds for the Freighter to be in the air and for Ahsoka to maneuver it in the direction of the Nightbrothers village, she remembered to go pass the mountains and to continue north which is exactly what she did. Now all she needed to do was to wait and see the village and land near it.

Her montrals picked up on Maul’s whisper to Merrin and she looked from the corner of her eyes to see them stand, only for the young girl to sit in the seat without, who stood and leaned against it. Merrin looked out the glass in awe, taking in everything they flew past - it again reminded her of Tervhum. Ahsoka had missed the little boy in the two days away and found herself excited to see him again, she promised that she would teach him some things within the Force which she was going to do - and maybe she’ll let him hold and try to use her lightsaber, maybe.

The trip was silent which Ahsoka didn’t mind, Merrin was busy looking at parts of the planet she had probably, given her reactions to everything, had never seen before as Maul just stood there, eyes closed. She thought he looked relaxed like that and found herself taking in his facial tattoos - she quickly turned away from him and focused her attention on flying, now was not the time to ogle him.

_ How about never is a good time to do something like that _ . Ahsoka told herself, but a part of her disagreed and thought of when the two would be alone, then she could ogle him. 

She suppressed a groan at her thoughts, now really wasn’t time for them.

She didn’t know how much time had passed before she saw the outline of the village, she mentioned for Merrin to strap herself in and found Maul with his eyes back open, holding onto the backs of both seats with his hands. The more they got closer the more she could feel Maul’s radiating emotions of anxiety and nervousness - why did he feel such a way? Because he was a Nightbrother? Had he not been to the village since he came here? 

Those questions would have to wait for answers as Ahsoka landed her ship in exactly the same place she left it and opened the runway, then unstrapped herself and saw Merrin do the same thing as she stood. 

Ahsoka was the one to lead, followed by Merrin and Maul brought the end. The guards noticed her and offered a nod in gesture which Ahsoka returned, she noticed their eyes widen at Maul but he didn’t look at them, in fact she heard the metal of his feet hit the ground heavier then normal.

They walked to the centre where she quickly saw Rorgun, the Nightbrother smiled widely at her as he walked to her.

“Mistress Tano, you are back.”

“I am.” She nodded at him. “Taron is dead and your brothers are free, there’s no need to live in fear anymore.”

She quickly noticed the jump in Maul’s emotions as she said those words, and she so badly wanted to turn around and find why, but there were more important matters to do first.

“I am glad.” His voice was happy yet almost as if he was about to cry of happiness. “Thank you Mistress Tano, we are forever in your debt.” 

“Don’t be, it was the right thing to do.” She told him and then gestured to the two behind her. “I had help from these two, this is Merrin.” She placed a hand on the young girl’s shoulder, noticing her nervousness of being in the village. “She helped us defeat Taron.”

“You have my thanks Sister, I am happy to see you are here with us.” Rorgun told her with a kind smile, Ahsoka felt Merrin relax a little under her hand. 

“Thank you, I only wish that I did something sooner, as I could have saved my brothers.”

“Do not blame yourself Sister.” Rorgun placed a hand on her head and gently patted it. “It is not your fault. Taron has hurt us all, and together we can heal and be at peace again.”

Merrin looked at him in shock, not expecting these kinds of words and welcome. She looked up at Ahsoka who smiled down at her and moved her hand to Merrin’s back and patted it gently.

“Thank you Brother.”

Rorgun smiled and removed his hand, he looked behind her and his eyes widened to see Maul, who kept his facial expression neutral. “Maul, it is good to see you again.”

They clasped hands Ahsoka saw another twitch in Maul as the touch and saw him relax a bit as they drew away. 

“Rorgun.” Maul greeted him with his strong and hard voice. “I suspect that now Taron is gone that you will take up the position of leadership?”

“You suspect right Brother, unless you wish to take up the position.”

Maul shook his head almost immediately after Rorgun finished his sentence. “I do not want or wish such things, the position is all yours.”

“Very well then.” Rorgun smiled at him and turned to the girls. “The death of Taron and our freedom will cause a celebration, I hope you will all join us.”

“Of course Rorgun.” Ahsoka smiled and nodded at him, she enjoyed the last feat and was looking forward to the celebration. Merrin’s eyes beamed at the news and tried her hardest to contain her excitement much to Ahsoka’s amusement. 

“Will there be food?” She asked and Rorgun smiled warmly at her.

“Of course Sister.” He then held a hand out to her. “Come and let us get ready.” Merrin glanced at Ahsoka who nodded at her, and Merrin put her hand in his, his fingers gently curling around her. Rorgun then looked at Ahsoka. “I will see you at the celebration Mistress Tano.”

Ahsoka nodded at him and winked at Merrin as the two walked away before she turned to Maul, he might seem calm with his hands clasped behind his back and standing straight but Ahsoka knew better then that. She wanted to ask him about it but decided not to in case it set something off, instead she just went for some casual talk.

“Are you staying for the celebration Maul?”

He looked at her with a cocked brow. “I am not one for celebrations Lady Tano.”

“But it's for the Nightbrothers freedom and the death of Taron, something you helped to make happen, something you _ wanted _ . Why not celebrate it?”

He was silent and she bit her lip as she looked at him, the warm and seasoned air of the village that was comfortable now tense between them. When he spoke, his words surprised her.

“Why are you so adamant on me celebrating with them?” He asked with genuine curiosity yet with narrowed eyes. 

“I just told you. The Nightbrothers are free and Taron is dead, which you wanted.”

“And there is not...anything else?” He asked, his eyes staring into her which made her body stiffen. He’s searching her but for what? What was he expecting her to say? 

“What else is there?” 

Maul clicked his tongue, showing a fang before he turned away from her. He obviously didn’t like her answer and she didn’t know why, so she opened her mouth to ask him but a call of her name stopped her.

“Ahsoka!” Tervhum ran up to her and his arms wrapped around her waist, Ahsoka smiled down at him and rubbed his head affectionately, careful of his horns. “Your back!”

“I promised I would, didn’t I?”

He pulled away so he could look up at her, showing a happy smile. “You did. And you also promised that you would teach me.”

She looked at him in amusement. “You want to train that badly?”

“I do.” He nodded vigorously. Ahsoka then felt the Force in him shift and his eyes looked past her to see Maul. Despite Maul being a Nightbrother himself he was vastly different from the rest, he was the only one she had ever seen with such red skin, as all the others were shades of yellow and orange. 

“Who’s he?” Tervhum asked her, his voice loud enough for Maul to hear. 

“This is Maul.” She told him gently. “He helped me on my mission.”

The young Zabrak boy looked at Maul wide eyed and Ahsoka could see a gleam of surprise and excitement in his eyes which she couldn’t help but find adorable. She watched as Tervhum take a few steps closer to Maul before he spoke.

“Hello Mr Maul.”

Maul’s lips tugged at the way Tervhum called him, Ahsoka herself found it quite humorous. “Hello there child. And what is your name?”

“Tervhum.” The young boy replied excitedly. “Did you really help Ahsoka with her mission?”

“I did.”

Tervhum’s eyes beamed. “Are you as strong as her then?”

“Even more.” Ahsoka replied before Maul could answer, she didn’t know why she did exactly - perhaps she just didn’t want to hear it from Maul’s mouth.

“That’s so cool!” Tervhum smiled widely. “Oh! Does that mean you and Ahsoka are friends Mr Maul? If you helped her?”

Maul gazed at Ahsoka for a moment and her breath hitched. What would he say? Enemies? That wouldn’t suit well for the young boy or the others in the village. Allies? She supposed that was true but only for her mission. Friends? Nope, that was out of the question. So what were they? 

“We are, acquaintances.” He said carefully as he looked back at the young Zabrak, who looked at him confused.

“What’s that? A fancy word for friends?”

_ Definitely not _ . “We just know each other from the past.” Ahsoka answered and felt Maul’s gaze burn into her. “We’re not exactly friends.”

“Why not?” Tervhum looked even more confused. “Did something bad happen?”

_ Oh you don’t know the half of it _ . “Seems like you wanna keep asking these questions instead of training.”

Tervhum’s eyes widen. “No I wanna train! I’ll stop asking questions!” He looked at her with pleased eyes. “Please Ahsoka, I won’t ask anymore.”

She chuckled. “Alright, alright. I’m just teasing you Tervhum.” She patted his shoulder and he relaxed instantly.

“You are training him?” Maul asked once again with genuine curiosity, Ahsoka didn’t know if that was good or bad. 

“A little.” She decided to tell him. His eyes had some surprise in them. “Tervhum wanted to know about the Force and he asked me to teach him.” Ahsoka was still on the fence on the matter, she would teach him a few things but to fully train him? Tervhum would have to come with her and that was dangerous enough for him, her job as Fulcrum was not suited for children. If an Inquisitor managed to see Tervhum with her and send word to Sidious - he would come after the Zabrak child, and she would be revealed to be alive and hunt after her.

No. She wouldn’t train him fully - she couldn’t.

Ahsoka was pulled out of her thoughts by Tervhum tugging on her hand with a look of impatience. She had to chuckle, it was too cute. “Alright, alright. Let’s go train.”

Tervhum cheered and turned to Maul. “Will you join us Mr Maul?”

Ahsoka froze. She did not expect Tervhum to ask such a thing - though he did ask her to teach him about the Force with only knowing for less then five hours, and Maul had been kind to him. Perhaps Tervhum still wanted to make friends other then the ones he had due to his imprisonment, and if Maul was kind to him - and knew Ahsoka, then the Zabrak was on the list.

Maul looked at her and Ahsoka’s breath hitched. What would he say? She couldn’t answer for him as he might retaliate and make Tervhum uncomfortable, and if Maul were to join things could go south - with what Orders they used to be in, their difference in teaching may be vastly different.

They held each other's gaze for a moment, for some reason she couldn’t look away from those yellow eyes - they bore into her as if they stared right into her soul. It made her tremble, and confused on deciding if it was by fear or excitement scared her.

Maul finally spoke. “I’m afraid I’ll have to decline Tervhum, perhaps next time.”

The young Zabrak was sad at Maul not coming, but hearing that he might come next time made the boy happy. “Ok. Will you be at the celebration?”

The yellow eyes were on her again, but quick this time. “Of course.”

Her eyes widened slightly, she tried to get Maul to join but he - well he didn’t refuse, but made it known certain that he would have. Perhaps it was the magic of a child, it was hard to refuse them, and it looked like Maul was the same.

It made her feel warm inside, the image of Maul with children wasn’t one she would ever think of, but he got along well lately with Merrin, and now Tervhum.

Tervhum brightened. “Ok!” He turned back to Ahsoka. “Can we train now? Please?”

“Of course.” 

He smiled, cheered and ran in the direction of where she would train him, she didn’t know where it was so Tervhum would show her - with that point she really should follow him, but the presence of Maul stopped her.

She looked back at him to find a small sign of a smirk on his lips, lingered amusement in his yellow eyes.

“I’ll see you at the celebration Lady Tano.”

Maul turned and walked away, she didn’t know why her cheeks felt hot - maybe the weather - but she couldn’t think of it right now.

She turned and walked in the direction of where Tervhum went, his figure small in the distance but his presence in the Force was strong - if she ever lost him on the way to where he was going, she would simply follow that.


End file.
